

Shelf 


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 












4 



♦ 


4 



' A 



\ 


» 














» 


4 


'“t 


« 



4 








f 


w 



> 



* • 


4. 


J 


V 





I 


f 


4 


« 

% 





•i«r* V 




•N 

%•< 


• \ 


\ 






> 


9 X 


■< 


4 


■*, 


. / 


I 


t 



V 


« 



ar - 



I 





I 


t 


' s 







The Chester Girls. 

\ 


BY 

ROSE HARTWICK THORPE, 

K 

AUTHOR OF 

“curfew must not ring to-night." 



Be not amazed at life. 'Tis still 
The mode of God with his elect, 

Their hopes exactly to fulfill 
In times and ways they least expect. 

' Dean Alford. 



f 


PHILADELPHIA I 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
1420 Chestnut Street. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by the 
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



3 fc-i3 


CONTENTS. 


r4 

cj 

(/P 


is 


CHAPTER 1. 


Little Blossom’ s Doll. 5 

CHAPTEB 11. 

Dyke Introduces Himself 20 

CHAPTER III. 

A Little Discussion 36 

CHAPTER lY. 

The Old Spanish Mission 53 

CHAPTER Y. 

Dyke’s Discovery 73 

CHAPTER YI. 

Nina Loses Her Bible 86 

CHAPTER YII. 

The Little Seamstress 105 

CHAPTER YIII. 

Mrs. Randall’s Decision 118 


8 


4 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE. 

The Man by the Live Oak Tree 127 

CHAPTER X 

A Blow at King Alcohol 143 

CHAPTER XI. 

Colonel Chester’s Illness 161 

CHAPTER XII. 

Nurse AND Housekeeper 177 

CHAPTER XHL 

Dr. Gordon’s Secret 191 

CHAPTER XIV. 

What Florence Found 205 

CHAPTER XV. 

Florence Restores the Lost Money 222 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Nina’s Birthday Present 237 

CHAPTER XVII. 

An Excursion for the Chester Girls 251 


The Chester Girls. 


CHAPTER I. 

LITTLE blossom’s DOLL. 

A MAN skulked along, in the deepening twilight 
shadows. He was coarsely, even shabbily, dressed. 
His coat was shiny at the seams, and frayed at the 
edges. His hat was much the worse for wear, and his 
whole appearance betokened one whom shame and fear en- 
thralled. Somewhere, somehow, he had lost the strength 
and vigor which characterize a man in the full posses- 
sion of self-conscious manhood. 

He seeks the deepest shadow — avoiding the lamp-light’s 
glare. He darts across an open space, where no friendly 
shadow reaches out its dusky hand to conceal him. 

A sudden flood of dazzling light streams out from the 
windows of a room, across the way. He starts and shud- 
ders and trembles, as though powerless to resist some 
awful, impelling influence. 

He thrusts a bundle he is carrying behind him with 

6 


6 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


a quick spasmodic motiou, as if that dazzling light were 
a keen, penetrating eye, to pierce through the wrappings 
of the package he bears, and to view its secret contents. 

His whole aim seems, now, to be — to get safely beyond 
the building where the light has startled him. 

Other buildings stand along the entire length of the 
street ; but he has no fear of them. They will not detain 
him, or snatch from him the treasure he now conceals in 
the breast of his coat. If he can escape from the vicinity 
of that one building, he is safe. But will he — can he do it? 

The Evil One has gained possession of the man’s will 
through his most powerful agent, and he smiles at his poor 
victim’s frantic efforts to break the chains which bind 
him captive. He laughs in derision ; for he knows what 
the end will be. 

There is a wonderful fascination for that wretched, 
trembling man, in the building from which he is en- 
deavoring to escape. Such a powerful influence it seems 
to exert over his struggling senses, that, irresistibly, un- 
consciously, he is drawn toward it, even while his heart 
and will are battling to keep him from it. 

There is just one thing in all the world that can exert 
such ail influence as this over man’s better judgment ; 
that can drown his sense of right, and compel him to 
trample on all the holiest and highest attributes of his 
nature ; that can deaden his ears to the cry of his starv- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


7 


ing children ; that can blind his eyes to the woe depicted 
on their faces ; that can make him forget honor and truth, 
and become devoid of all sense of shame ; that can dull 
his every sense, until degradation and filth no longer 
seem to him among the despicable things of life. 

There is no need for me to write the word. There is 
only one thing which can do all this, and the smallest 
school-boy in our land knows what it is. 

Suddenly the man stood still. A footstep sounded near 
him, and a voice accosted him : 

“ Joe Eandall, you ? What, going to leave so early as 
this ? Why, man, what’s the matter ? ” 

“ I — I — haven’t been there at all,” faltered J oe, meekly. 
“ I — I think I’ll not stop to-night.” 

“ Pshaw, man ! come back. Barr has just received a 
new supply of prime stuff, and I’m going in to sample it. 
If Barr won’t treat, I will. So come on.” 

Still Joe Eandall hesitated ; and the hand which held 
the bundle concealed beneath his coat, clutched at it 
frantically, and held it in a vice-like grasp. 

“ It’s — little Blossom’s birthday, and — and I told her 
I would come straight home to-night” — replied Joe, 
tremulously. 

“ Oh, yes ! of course, I understand. These little ones 
must be humored on their birthdays,” said his friend, 
laughing. “You needn’t stay five minutes, you know. 


8 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Just to try this new brand of — what’s-it’s-name ? Well, 
it don’t matter. You’ll get home, then, in time for the 
party — eh ? ” 

I’m all the party she expects, and ” with a fiim, 

mighty effort — “ I can’t disappoint her. No, Davis, I 
can’t stop to-night. I promised my wife I wouldn’t stop.” 

“ So did I, just for the sake of keeping peace in the 
family,” rejoined Davis, with a brutal laugh. “ But I 
would go to Barr’s to-night for the sake of asserting my 
independence, if for no other reason. I didn’t yield my 
manhood into a woman’s keeping so readily. It would 
be the same as granting that I am no longer capable of 
caring for myself ; besides, what harm can an occasional 
social glass do any man? Come on, just to prove your 
manhood, if for no other reason. Don’t act the fool. 
Come on.” 

And the poor, hesitating wretch, just to prove his man- 
hood, proved the entire loss of it, and accompanied his 
tempter into the saloon, satisfying his conscience with the 
promise that he would get rid of Davis in this way. He 
would only take one drink ; and Barr should not get the 
doll he was taking home to Blossom, as he had the new 
shoes he had been taking to his little daughter more than 
a week before. 

And, ah, those shoes ! How badly little Blossom had 
needed them. She did not need them now ; for she had 


THE CHESTEE GIKLS. 


9 


gone out in her bare feet, one frosty morning, because she 
bad no shoes to wear; and since then she had been in bed 
with a fever flush on her cheeks, and its fire in her 
eyes. 

Joe Randall hated Barr, when he remembered that his 
little daughter was wearing Blossom’s shoes — the shoes 
that would have prevented her sfckness if they had not 
“ gone for drink.” 

This was her birthday ; and because his conscience had 
pricked him so often and so sharply, on account of the 
shoes, he promised her that he would come home early 
that night, and that he would bring her a doll. 

Wonderful possibility of happy child-life! It would 
not matter to little, waiting Blossom, that the doll cost 
scarcely more than the price of three drinks at the bar. 
It had yellow china hair and blue china eyes ; and Joe 
Randall had unwrapped it a dozen times in the little 
while it had been in his possession, and had pictured to 
himself the child’s rapturous delight when he should lay 
it in her arms, and should tell her that “ papa loved his 
little daughter.” The anticipated pleasure of his “ home 
coming” that night, was more enjoyment than all the 
evenings he had ever spent at Barr’s. But he realized 
his own weakness, and he knew that on other evenings 
he had left his work with as strong a determination to go 
directly home,' and had stopped at Barr’s instead. 


10 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Could he get past the place to-night, or would the 
tempter be stronger than he ? Once safely past the 
saloon, which he must pass in order to reach his home, 
and Blossom would be sure of her doll, for one evening at 
least. It was just possible that it would some time find 
its way to Barr’s little girl — how Randall hated that 
child as she played witlT the toys purchased for Blossom — 
but Blossom would have had her birthday doll; and on 
that day, at least, she would not be disappointed. 

“ I’ll go in for a moment only,” said Mr. Randall, in 
reply to Mr. Davis’ last argument. “ For a moment only, 
remember,” he added, more confidently. His conscience 
was so easily appeased. 

The Evil One laughed, and chuckled, and rubbed his 
hands in glee. Oh, certainly, one moment will be suffi- 
cient! One drop of liquid fire will be enough to kindle an 
unquenchable fire which will burn for all eternity. 

At the door of the saloon they met Barr, genial and 
jolly, smiling, and rubbing his hands — a most successful 
agent to do the bidding of his master. He shook hands 
with his guests most cordially, and inquired affectionately 
after their health. He was too wise to ask about wives 
and little ones at home. He had all he could attend to in 
making his customers forget home and its responsibilities. 

But Joe Randall met some one else at the door of the 
saloon. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


11 


Little Blossom, tossing restlessly and feverishly on her 
sick couch all that long afternoon, had thought of little 
else than her birthday doll. 

“ When I shut ray eyes I can see it, mamma,” she said. 
“And I feel it in ray arms — a real, real dollie, like Jennie 
Barr has. I shall love your apron too, mamma, when it 
is rolled into a doll ; but I shall love the new one so 
much, because it will have a face like mine, and hands, 
and pretty blue shoes on its dear little feet.” 

“ Dyke,” she added, turning to a boy who had entered 
the room, and whose roguish eyes indicated that he was 
very much like other boys, in spite of his unhappy envi- 
ronment — “ Dyke, isn’t it almost time for papa to 
come ? ” 

“ Not for an hour yet,” he replied, carelessly. 

A long-drawn sigh came from the little sick sister. 

“ I never saw such a long day in my life,” she said, 
wearily. “ I guess it is because I’m six years old. Do 
the days grow long when one gets old, mamma ? ” 

“ No, dear, they seem shorter.” 

“ But I’m old now. Six years,” she said, fretfully. 
“ And it is such a long day.” 

“We might talk about the doll, and that would make 
the time seem shorter,” suggested Dyke, gently. For 
although he was a boy — a rough, teasing boy at times — 
he loved his little sister very much. She was such a frail 


12 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


little creature; aud this last sickness of hers made him 
very tender of her. 

“ So we might,” she cried, joyously. “ It will be beau- 
tiful, like the angels. Mamma, what are angels ? ” 

But mamma pretended not to hear. 

“They are just nothing at all,” said Dyke. “There 
are no such things as ghosts and angels.” 

“Mamie Clark, says there are angels and a heaven 
where everybody is happy, and where every one goes 
after they die, if they love God.” 

“ Hush, Blossom ! ” whispered Dyke. “ Mamma don’t 
like to hear you talk about dying; and anyhow it is only 
a fairy story. There isn’t any God either.” 

“ I did hope there was,” sighed Blossom, “ and I do 
truly believe there is. It would be so nice to go there, 
because — because — ” drawing his head down close to her 
lips — “ they don’t have ‘ the drinks ’ there.” 

“ Now, Dyke,” she said, a little later: “I do really 
and truly think it is time papa came. See, mamma has 
the table all set, and she has looked out of the window 
three times. I saw her do it. Dyke, won’t you, 
please ? ” 

“ What, Blossom-? ” 

“Won’t you please run down to Barr’s and wait for 
papa, and please ” — pathetically — “ please don’t let him 
stop there.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


13 


The ■wistful entreaty on his little sister’s face was too 
much for Dyke’s resistance ; and kissing her, he snatched 
his hat from the wooden peg behind the door, and ran 
out into the street. 

It was Dyke’s face that confronted Mr. Kandall, as he 
was about to enter the saloon. 

“ Please, papa,” he entreated, “ little Blossom sent me 
to meet you. She is so afraid you won’t come right away.” 

“You must be in a desperate condition, to need an 
escort past my door,” said Barr, sarcastically. 

It was enough. The boy’s beseeching face was as 
nothing, compared with that covert sneer. He would 
show Barr and Davis that he could do as he pleased. 

“I’ll come when I am ready,” he said, angrily, and 
walked boldly into the saloon. 

He did not mean it at all, and his heart reproved him 
for the harsh words ; but he could not bear the taunts of 
his companions, and so another downward step was 
taken. 

The story is such an old one there is nothing new about 
it. It has been told over, and over, and over, until the 
world says, “ It is threadbare. Why flaunt this bar-room 
misery in our faces?” And yet the death-dealing work 
goes on, and we, who hold the pen, are responsible if we 
do not cry out against the power which is wrecking our 
homes and our happiness. 


14 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


It was ten o’clock before Joe Kandall sought his home. 
The first drink had called for others ; and when, at last, 
he turned his uncertain footsteps homeward, there was no 
one to urge him to remain, for he had spent his last dime ; 
and Blossom’s doll had also been sacrificed to satisfy the 
crazy thirst which that first drink had awakened. 

Not until he had reached the door of his home did he 
remember Blossom’s request ; and then the thought that 
she would be asleep comforted him. He was too much 
under the influence of liquor to care greatly, and so he 
entered the room. 

The sight which met his gaze partially sobered him ; for 
even in his stupid condition, he realized that something 
unusual had occurred, to bring the doctor there at ten 
o’clock. 

The doctor stood by the bed holding Blossom’s hand ; 
and a grave look was on his kindly face. 

Dyke was smothering his passionate sobs in the bed- 
clothes, and Mrs. Randall stood near with a look of 
frozen misery on her face. There were no tears in her 
eyes — only utter despair ; that despair which those feel 
who see their loved ones go from them into “the be- 
yond,” and who have no faith, or trust in God, to comfort 
them. 

Standing in the doorway, and leaning against the casing 
for support, Joe Randall saw, and understood it all. He 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 15 

knew that the strange, dream-like look on Blossom’s face 
meant — death. 

“ He’s so long — so long — coming home to-night,” 
moaned the dying child. “ I’m six years old to-day, and 
it’s such a long, long day.” 

Then lifting her eyes to the good doctor’s face, she 
asked : 

“ Is there a beautiful heaven somewhere, and are little 
girls happy there ? ” 

“ Yes, dear,” he replied. 

“ I’m so glad. But why don’t my papa come ? ” 

Then catching sight of him, her voice rang out with 
all its feeble, failing strength : 

“ Give it to me, papa — my dear, new dolly.” 

With a cry of anguish he staggered forward and knelt 
by the bed. 

Oh, doctor I ” he cried. “ Is she very sick ? ” 

Yes.” 

« Will she die?” 

Silence, which was far more suggestive than words. 

“ Give me my dolly, papa.” 

A sob was her only reply. 

“ Haven’t you got it ? ” 

He shook his head — he could not speak. 

« Is it ” she hesitated — “did you leave it at Barr’s ?” 

Another sob from the kneeling man. 


16 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Oh, I didn’t think you loved Barr’s little girl more’n 
your own,” she wailed. “ You gave her my new shoes ; 
but I never thought you’d give her my dolly too. Oh, 
I do want it so bad — so bad.” 

“And you shall have it,” he cried, desperately. 

“ It’s too late, now,” said his wife, in a hard voice. 
“ You have killed little Blossom.” 

But he did not seem to hear her. The liquor he had 
taken fired his brain, and his dying child’s reproaches 
crazed him. He scarcely realized what he was doing — he 
w^as conscious of only one thought — to get the doll for 
Blossom. 

Barr was closing the saloon for the night, when a man 
flung the door open, and confronted him with a wild, 
haggard face. 

“ I want the doll I gave you to-night,” he demanded. 

“ You do, eh ? ” laughed the saloon keeper. “ Get out 
of here, lively, or I’ll pitch you out.” 

And this was the man who had greeted him so cordially 
in the early evening. 

“I wiU have it,” cried Randall, with a movement 
toward the place where the doll lay. 

“ I’ve no time to bother with drunken fools. Get out,” 
exclaimed Barr, taking him by the arm, and forcing him 
toward the door. 

“ Nor I with drunken fool-makers,” hissed the crazed 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


17 


man, snatching up the poker and dealing Barr a heavy 
blow. 

How still the room was after that ! There was no one 
to hinder him from taking the doll now, if he chose. 
How white and ghastly Barr’s face looked in the light of 
the lamp ! Had he killed him ? He bent over his 
victim. Yes, he was sure that he was dead. He had 
only wanted the doll, and he had killed a man. The 
thought sobered him completely, and filled his heart with 
a wild, vague terror. 

But come what would. Blossom should have her doll. 
He took it from the place where it lay and went out, 
closing the door behind him. 

Back to his home he hurried. His footsteps did not 
falter now. He was sober, and he realized all that had 
come to him in the last few hours. If Blossom could 
only live to know that he had brought her the doll — but 
even this poor boon was denied him. 

On opening the door he entered the room of death. 

Dyke still wept by the bedside, his wife still sat with 
that stony, unreconciled look on her face. The doctor 
was gone, and kindly hands were doing the last services 
for the little one who was past all pain. 

He went up to the bedside. The ladies who were 
present withdrew, and left him alone with his living and 
his dead. 

B 


18 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Little Blossom,” lie said, tenderly, “ I am going away 
from every one until I can be a better man. Good-bye.” 

He stooped and kissed her still face, and laid the doll 
on her breast. Then, without a word to wife or son, he 
turned and went out of the room. 

The next day, Barr opened his saloon a§. usual ; but 
the village folk noticed that he had his head bandaged, 
and that his face was swollen and discolored: 

He passed the matter off as best he could ; but did not 
give the true reason, He never mentioned the missing 
doll, nor did Mrs. Randall know where her husband had 
got the doll which lay in Blossom’s arms when they laid 
her away beneath the falling autumn leaves. 

Dyke did not know ; but with his ready boy wit he 
surmised much, because he knew that his father had ex- 
changed a package, about the size and shape of a doll, 
for drink at Barr’s, and when Barr appeared the next 
day with a swollen head, he guessed the rest. . 

As for Mr. Randall, he had disappeared as sudd.enly 
and mysteriously as if the earth had swallowed him up, 
with only that broken, penitent sentence spoken over his 
dead child for a clue to his strange disappearance. 

A few days of conjecture among the village people, and 
then they seemed to forget him ; and life at the Bend 
moved along in its old accustomed channel. 

Mrs. Randall had once been a loving wife. She had 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


19 


been a tender mother before Blossom’s death ; but she was 
silent and grave now. Her grief seemed to have frozen 
all tenderness out of her nature. 

Dyke, with his genial, fun-loving nature, missed some- 
thing from his home, which his mother should have sup- 
plied. He did not know that her lack of trust in God’s 
wisdom and mercy was what he missed ; that the afflic- 
tion which draws God’s children closer to him, and makes 
them more tender and considerate, has the opposite effect 
on those who know not God’s love. 

One day, Mrs. Randall informed Dyke that she had 
received a letter from her brother in San Antonio, Texas, 
offering to herself and her son a home with him. 

“ 1 know very little about him,” she said. “He is only 
my half-brother, and is many years my senior. He was 
a man when I was but a little child. I have seen him 
but once since. He has heard of my lonely condition, 
and offers us a home. He writes kindly, and we will 
accept his offer. He will probably assist in your educa- 
tion.” 

And so it was settled that they were to go to this 
strange uncle, whom Dyke had never heard mentioned 
before ; and he, at least, was glad of the change which 
would take them away from the scene of their sorrow. 


CHAPTER 11. 


DYKE INTRODUCES HIMSELF. 



TE letter which Dyke Randall had carefully de- 


posited in the mail-box at the Bend, informing 
Colonel Chester that his mother had accepted his kind 
offer of a home, and would reach San Antonio on the 
16th of November, lay unopened on Colonel Chester’s 
desk, in his reading-room. He was absent from home ; 
and as none of the family thought the letter of much 
importance, it lay there, where Aunt Dinah had placed 
it on the morning of its arrival, awaiting his return. 

Dyke, with all of a boy’s enthusiasm, had made certain 
that it was dropped into the box in safety, and then he 
began, in imagination, to follow its course to its desti- 
nation. 

“ Uncle received the letter two days ago,” he remarked, 
assuredly. “And there’s no doubt whatever but that 
he’ll meet us at the depot with his carriage.” 

Mrs. Randall was not so confident of a warm reception. 
She remembered how displeased Colonel Chester had 
been when, as a girl, she had chosen Joe Randall — then 
Mr. Joseph Randall, of the Bend — in preference to a 


20 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


21 


home under his roof. She also remembered the long 
years of estrangement and silence which had followed, in 
which they had been as the veriest strangers. 

In what capacity she was about to enter his home, she 
knew not ; but it mattered little to her. It would be a 
shelter for her lacerated heart to hide in — a place in . 
which to nurse her wrongs and count them up against the 
hand which had smitten her. 

But she did not interrupt Dyke’s bright anticipations. 
She simply kept silence. 

“Now, mamma,” he said, loading himself down with 
parcels and boxes, as the train stopped at the depot, 

“ remember that you’ve got as much of the Chester 
blood as Uncle Andrew has ; and you’re not to let him 
lord it over you, if he is rich. I can take care of you, 
if he does not choose to, and he must not snub you.” 

She smiled, and shadowy as the smile was, it made his 
mother positively beautiful in the boy’s eyes. 

But a disappointment awaited them at the outset. 
There was no fine carriage at the depot ; no colored coach- 
man with deferential bow ; no pleased Uncle Andrew to 
welcome them cordially to his home. They were strangers 
in a strange city, and knew not where to go. 

“We won’t go to his home until he comes for us — 
at least, you shall not,” remarked Dyke, indignantly. 

“ But it is difierent with me. I am only a boy, and you 


22 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


shall stop at a hotel, while I go and inform him of our 
arrival.’’ 

There was a strong sense of wrong swelling in the boy’s 
heart ; and he decided that they would not go to Colonel 
Chester’s like beggars. They had not asked for a home 
with him, and it was very doubtful, under the present 
circumstances, if they accepted his invitation at all. 
Dyke had an exalted idea of his own importance and 
budding manhood ; and he carried his head very high 
as he went in search of Colonel Chester’s residence, after 
leaving his mother at the hotel. 

By inquiring, he had no difficulty in finding the place ; 
for Colonel Chester was a prominent man, and well 
known. 

On reaching the house, Dyke was a trifle awed. It was 
so much finer than he had anticipated. However, he had 
no intention of permitting Uncle Andrew to see that his 
splendor affected him. 

“ There is nothing like first impressions,” soliloquized 
this wise lad, at the same time walking most leisurely, 
almost hesitatingly, through the grounds leading to the 
house. Thus he meant to convey an impression of utter 
indifference to his surroundings, in case any one might be 
watching him from some one of the many open windows, 
which he had no doubt was the case. But his hesitation 
was in reality caused, partly by a sense of timidity, and 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 23 

partly by a wish to gain time for a more perfect self- 
possession. 

A little dark figure came out of the house, and re- 
garded him mischievously ; poised itself on one foot, then, 
like a flash, turned a handspring, and “ brought up” 
directly on the path before him. 

“ Yo’ bettah get out ob heah libly,' %re ole Nick get 
he eye on yo’,” she said, warningly. “ Ole Nick chaw 
yo’ up like yo’ was a hunk ob meat.” 

Dyke had no idea who old Nick was. Drawing him- 
self up to his full height, and expecting to annihilate this 
queer specimen of humanity with his importance, he 
said : 

“ I am Dyke Kandall. Inform your master of my 
presence.” 

“ I’se mighty sorry dat Massa Chestah aint ter home to 
make a ’ception fo’ yo’, an’ ’vite de big bugs to make yo’ 
’quaintance. I is, fo’ sure. But I ’spec’s de young ladies 
’ll detain yo’ han’som’ly till he comes. I’ll reform ’em 
ob yo’ presence.” 

And before Dyke could utter one word of remon- 
strance, the small elf had darted away, like a dusky 
shadow across the lawn. 

“ If there’s one thing I detest more than another, it is 
a young lady,” mused Dyke, dejectedly. “ And here are 
several of them. I never could live here. I’ll get 


24 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


mother nicely settled, and then I’ll go away, and seek 
my fortune. Those young ladies have settled matters for 
me at Uncle Andrew’s. 

“ Didn’t that black midget turn a quick handspring 
though ? ” he added, admiringly. “ I couldn’t do so well 
myself I believe I’ll try.” 

Flinging his hat on the ground, he tried his skill 
against that displayed by little black Gipsy ; but the 
effort disgusted him. 

“ At any rate,” he said, confidently, “ I can’t be beat at 
a genuine somersault. This grass is just the place for it. 
So here goes ” 

He started on a brisk run down a slightly-inclined 
space, then began a series of revolutions in the air. Over 
and over he went, until, in his rapid exercise, he caught 
a glimpse of three faces, and was conscious of the very 
undignified position he had assumed. 

The faces, with startled expressions, confronted him, 
when, abashed and shame-faced, he had gathered himself 
up from the grass at their feet, and made feeble and inef- 
fectual efforts at removing the dust from his coat, and the 
bits of dry grass from his disheveled hair. 

An elderly gentleman, with a stern countenance, sur- 
veyed Dyke severely, thinking him one of the venture- 
some city lads who had taken an unwarrantable liberty 
with his lawn. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


25 


“Well, sir,” he exclaimed, in his deepest bass tones, 
•which were enough to strike terror to the heart of any 
culprit. 

But Dyke could have faced the gentleman’s displeasure 
with less trepidation than the. laughter in those girlish 
faces at his side. 

“If you please, sir, I am Dyke Kandall,” he said, 
meekly, while hot flushes suffused his face. He had for- 
gotten the grand manner which he had intended to 
assume on this occasion. 

“ I am Dyke Kandall,” he said ; “ and I wish to see 
my uncle, Andrew Chester.” 

A glow of friendly interest swept over one of the girl’s 
faces before him, while an expression of contempt crept 
into the other. 

“ Oh ! ah ! so you are,” replied Colonel Chester, while 
a suspicion of laughter came into the eyes a moment since 
so grave. 

“ My sister’s son, eh ? and you have presented yourself 
to me. Quite a novel method of introduction, and very 
original, I am sure. If our acquaintance is to be carried 
out as it has begun, I shall despair of my lawn.” 

“ I beg pardon, sir, I ” faltered Dyke, confusedly. 

“Oh I I understand ! I was a boy once myself, some- 
thing less than a hundred years ago; and I have not 
quite forgotten how ‘ the boy in me ’ would take possession 


26 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


/ 

of my head and heels at times. No great harm done, 
my boy. Where is your mother ? ” 

He looked past Dyke as he spoke, expecting, no doubt, 
to see that lady. 

“ She stopped at the ho^el, while I came to inform you 
of our arrival.” 

“ Which you have done most effectively,” said Colonel 
Chester, laughing. “ I would have sent the carriage to 
meet you at the train, had I been aware of your intention 
to come to-day.” 

“We wrote to you, sir,” said Dyke, with a faint show 
of the dignity he had hoped to display at this time. 

“ There are several letters awaiting you at the house, 
grandpapa,” spoke up one of the girls. 

“I am sorry that I was absent when your mother 
reached San Antonio. However, I will send for her at 
once. Dyke — I think you say your name is Dyke ? ” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Well, Dyke, these are my granddaughters, Florence 
and Nina Chester.” 

Florence favored Dyke with a most uncourteous 
glance; but Nina extended her hand cordially. 

“ I am ever so glad that you are coming to live with 
us. Dyke,” she said, warmly. “ I have always had the 
companionship of boys, and I do not seem to know how 
to get along nicely without it.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


27 


“ I shall be ready in half an hour to accompany you to 
the hotel where your mother is stopping,” said Colonel 
Chester. “ I have a few little matters to attend to first, 
and will leave you to make the girls’ acquaintance, as 
they will often be your companions during the next few 
months.” 

Colonel Chester walked away toward the house. 

I hope you will excuse me also,” said Miss Florence, 
in her haughtiest and most rigidly polite tones. 

“ With the greatest of pleasure,” replied Dyke, in such 
evidently sincere tones that' Nina was nearly overcome 
with her effort to keep from laughing outright. 

“ I suppose that you would be happy to dispense with 
my company also,” she said, mischievously; “ but I shall 
not give you that pleasure.” 

“ You seem like a different sort of a girl,” Dyke 
answered, honestly. “A — a fellow don’t feel as if his 
clothes didn’t fit him when he’s with girls like you.” 

Then they both laughed such merry peals of laughter, 
though they could not have told why, and became friends 
immediately. 

“ Florence has never been accustomed to boys, and I 
have,” explained Nina. 

“ In that case, I should say that boys’ society is a great 
benefit to a girl,” remarked Dyke, seriously. “ But how 
does that happen ? Aren’t you sisters ? ” 


28 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ No, we are the daughters of Colonel Chester’s two 
sons. Florence is the daughter of Kalph, I of Richard 
Chester. Our papas are both dead,” she added, gravely. 
“ We do not remember them, or our mammas. We have 
no near relative, except Grandpapa Chester, and we both 
live here. Florence has no story at all. She has lived 
here as long as she can remember ; but there is such a 
nice story about me, and the way I came to find Grand- 
papa Chester, or rather how he came to find me. It is 
just like a story in a book.” 

“ Oh, won’t you tell it to me ? ” entreated Dyke, earn- 
estly. “ I am very fond of stories, especially true ones. 
I like them as well as — well, say next to base ball and 
mince-pie.” 

“You are just like Ned,” cried Nina, laughing. 

“ Who is Ned ? Does he live here too ? ” asked Dyke, 
quickly. 

“ No,” said Nina, with a shadow in her brown eyes ; 
“ and I do not see much of him now. For fifteen years 
I truly believed that Ned and Neil Bruce were my 
brothers, and that Mr. and Mrs. Bruce were my own 
papa and mamma.” 

Dyke picked up a dead pecan twig, took out his jack- 
knife, and seating himself on a mossy knoll, where Nina 
had already secured a seat, prepared to whittle and 
listen. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


29 


The grouDd sloped down to the river’s edge, and there 
was nothing but the sweet, low voices of the mocking- 
birds to disturb them. 

The river, at this point, wound about, making a small 
peninsula of the spot they had chosen. Large cotton- 
wood trees, pecans, and hackberry, grew on its banks, 
leaning lovingly over it, and interlocking their branches, 
above it. The scraggy fig and the wide-leafed banana 
grew in the shadow*of the larger trees. It was a pictur- 
esque scene which lay spread before these two young 
folks, who were making an eflfort to become better 
acquainted. 

“ I never was very strong at the North,” began Nina. 
“We lived on Lake Michigan, where the winds blow 
sharp and cold the most of the year, and where the ice 
and snow cover the ground for whole months at a 
time ” 

“ What a splendid place to be with a fine sled and a 
good pair of skates ! ” interrupted Dyke. 

“ Yes, Ned and Neil enjoyed it,” confessed Nina; “and 
so did I until my health was so poor that they would not 
allow me to go out of doors much in the cold weather. 
Well, I grew up there ” 

“ You mean part way,” again interrupted Dyke, with 
a quizzical glance at his small companion, who, although 
older than himself, was much smaller. 


30 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I’ll never get my story told, if you keep interrupting 
me,” cried Nina, with a pretty show of impatience. “ It 
was not like this place, though it had a grand beauty all 
its own, and the roar of old Lake Michigan sang us to 
sleep at night. But oh. Dyke ” — lowering her voice con- 
fidentially, and glancing apprehensively toward the 
house — “ every one there loved God. I did not know that 
there were people in the world who did not believe in 
him, until I came South.” 

Dyke gave a low whistle, and began to whittle the 
pecan stick. 

“I didn’t mean to w^histle,” he said, apologetically. 
“When a fellow’s pretty well used to it the whistle 
comes out without thinking.” 

“ It is so beautiful to live among people who love God,” 
continued Nina, with a littie sigh. 

“They didn’t need any revivals there, did they?” 
asked Dyke, with some interest. 

“ Oh, yes ! they were not all Christians, by any means,” 
said Nina, hasting to correct any wrong impressions Dyke 

might have received of her old home. “ But I may 

as well tell you, for you will soon know it. Grandpapa 
Chester and Florence do not believe in God at all ; and 
they think that Christ was just like any man.” 

She expected to shock her companion with this state- 
ment ; but the boy had been inside of a church only three 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


31 


times in his life — once to see how it looked in there; 
once to a Christmas tree, where every boy in the congre- 
gation, except himself, received a present ; and once when 
Blossom was carried there, and his heart had ached so 
that he had not heard what the minister said — and he 
saw nothing appalling in her statement, and remained 
silent. 

Nina gave a little sigh of disappointment, and con- 
tinued her story. 

“ I took so many colds, and my cough grew so bad, 
that Elder Williams — Elder Williams was the pastor of 
our church — and Dr. Downey decided that I must spend 
the winter at the South. Papa Bruce was very poor, and 
could not come with me. So they planned to send one of 
the boys with me ; and Ned and I came to Texas alone.’^ 

“You must have had jolly times, especially Ned,’' 
remarked Dyke, appreciatively. 

“Yes; only we both felt the responsibility of the 
undertaking,” replied Nina, gravely. “We had but 
little money, and Ned was obliged to earn one way. Mr. 
Thornton, here in the city, got Ned a position as brake- 
man on the railroad, and ” 

“ I’m going to see him, and see if he will get me a 
place,” exclaimed Dyke, excitedly. 

“ There’s something better in store for you, I think,” 
said Nina, in quite an elderly manner. 


32 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“As if anything could be better,” he said, contempt- 
uously. “But go on with your story. You were telling 
me how you came to find out that you belonged to Uncle 
Andrew.” 

“It all came about through my locket,” continued 
Nina? “ Here it is.” And she laid a pretty, curiously- 
wrought locket in Dyke’s hand. 

“ It is a very nice locket,” he said ; “ but how could 
this have anything to do with it ? ” 

“ One day I heard that Florence wanted to buy some 
hair to match her own. Mine, you notice, is just the 
color of hers.” 

“ But what did she want of more hair ? ” he asked, 
suspending operations on the pecan stick — awaiting her 
reply. 

“ Her own came out when she had the fever, and she 
wanted some to — to ” 

“To make her a wig,” he suggested, merrily; and 
made a mental note of the fact for future reference, in 
case an opportunity to utilize this important piece of 
information presented itself. 

“ I came here and sold her the hair ” 

“And Uncle Andrew saw you and claimed you as his 
granddaughter,” interposed Dyke. 

“ No, he was not here ; but in Florence’s room I saw a 
locket just like mine.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


33 


“ There are, probably a hundred just like it in the 
world,” remarked Dyke, gravely. 

“ Grandpapa Chester says there are only these two,” 
resumed Nina. “ If there had been more of them he 
never would have looked at me so closely that time in 
the cars; but that comes afterward. It all happened 
this way: Grandpapa Chester went into Florence’s room 
after I had gone, and seeing the locket, thought he would 
take it with him to El Paso, because he expected to be 
away several days, and the locket contains a good picture 
of Grandmamma Chester. He did not tell Florence that 
he had taken the locket, and when she missed it she 
thought I had stolen it. She came, in her carriage, to 
the place where Ned and I were boarding, and found I 
had a locket like hers. Then she was sure I had taken 
it. She took mine away with her, and I felt almost like 
a thief. It was all so strange.” 

“ So she was the thief, after all,” chuckled Dyke. 

“ She did not know about the other locket,” said Nina. 
“ The next time Ned went on his trip, I went with him ; 
and on the train, as we were coming back, was Grand- 
papa Chester. I had been writing on a paper which 
blew into his seat,” she continued ; “ and when he turned 
to hand it *to me, he grew quite pale. You will not 
wonder at it when you see the painting of Grandmamma 

Chester, as a girl. I look so very much like she did 

c 


34 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


then. For one moment, it seems, he thought I was 
grandmamma. There was a girl with me who knew all 
about the locket, and she told him the whole story — how 
Florence had accused me of stealing her locket, and how 
she had taken mine away with her — and everything. 
Then he showed me the locket he had with him. It was 
exactly like mine, even to the locks of hair, and the 
picture in a secret place, which I had never seen until 
Florence showed it to me, as proof that it was her locket.’^ 

“ I reckon that he knew his other son had the other 
locket, and he knew in a minute where yours came from,” 
suggested Dyke. 

“ Yes, and he knew that his son Richard had a little 
daughter, named Nina ; but he supposed that the whole 
family were drowned in Lake Michigan, when I was a 
baby. Every one on board the vessel was drowned but 
me. I was washed ashore with my locket, containing my 
first name, and the date of my birth, and Papa Bruce 
found me. He advertised for my friends ; and as no one 
came to claim me, they kept me as their own — and never 
were own parents kinder, or more loving than they,” 
added Nina, with a mist of tears in her eyes. 

“ If I had been in their place I wouldn’t have given 
you up,” said Dyke, with a glance of real admiration at 
the girl who had made him forget his unpleasant intro- 
duction to her, a short time since. “No possible chance 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


35 


that Miss Florence would forget it, or allow him to, 
either,” he thought. 

“ They were very poor,” said Nina, “ and Grandpapa 
Chester has been very kind to them. They loved me so 
dearly, and it would have broken my heart to part with 
them ; so he brought them all here, and has given them a 
lovely ranche for their home. Some time you must go 
with me to visit them. You will have such a good 
time.” 

“ I shall be glad to go,” said Fyke, forgetting his in- 
tention, a short time since, to seek his fortune in some 
distant place. He began to think that life at Uncle 
Andrew’s would not be so bad after all ; for Nina was 
not a young lady, but only a bright, entertaining, or, as 
he would have expressed it, a jolly, girl. 

“ My half an hour was a long one,” remarked a pleas- 
ant voice. At which they both turned and saw Colonel 
Chester coming towards them. “ I hope the time has not 
seemed long.” 

“ Not over ten minutes,” asserted Fyke, emphatically. 

“ I knew that Nina could make it slip away quickly, if 
any one could,” Colonel Chester said, stooping to kiss his 
favorite grandchild. 

“ But come now,” he added, more briskly. “We have 
kept your poor mother waiting too long already.” 


CHAPTER III. 


A LITTLE DISCUSSION. 


NDER the wide-spreading branches of a giant pecan 



^ tree, a young girl stood one autumn day, and gazed 
upon the scene spread before her with appreciative eyes. 
She had not as yet become accustomed to Southern 
scenery in all its varied aspects, having spent but a few 
months of her young life in the “ sunny South.” 

Before her wound the San Antonio River, over- 
shadow^ed by immense trees that clasped their huge arms 
across from either side, and interlocked their smaller 
branches. 

It was at the sunset hour. In any clime a beautiful 
sunset must call forth admiration; and especially are 
those favored, who have been permitted to behold a sun- 
set at the far South, when God’s wondrous glory, like a 
a vast panorama, is unrolled before them. 

Nina Chester stood quite still on the banks of the river, 
and gazed beyond it to the distant Western sky. 

A small green lizard, with bright, bead- like eyes, 
crawled close to her very feet, almost touching the hem of 
her pretty cambric dress. Her thoughts were wholly ab- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


37 


sorbed in the sunset glory, and she did not start at the 
proximity of the little creature, harmless in itself; but 
which usually inspired her, involuntarily, with a sense of 
terror. 

Fold upon fold of billowy, fleecy clouds sailed slowly, 
majestically across a throbbing, fathomless expanse of 
blue ; more brightly, more intensely blue than any ever 
produced by painter’s brush. 

A troubled shadow was on her face, and deepened in 
her brown eyes. 

“ Clar’ ! for goodness, Mis’ Nina, yo’ done forgot yo’ 
sha’l,” called out a shrill voice in the distance, as a small 
dusky figure darted down the lawn from the house, which 
stood back from the river on a slight eminence. 

“Aunt Dinah, she charge me berry ’ticular to see yo’ 
hab yo’ shawl when de dew am a-risin’, or the fogs am 
a-fallin’, an’ here yo’ is wivout it, a-stan’in’ by de ribber 
in dem slippers. Do’n’ yo’ know yo’s gwin tu ketch yo’s 
death? Why, chile, it’s dreffle keerless ob yo’ a-doin 
so.” 

Nina smiled at the quaint little creature, whose age 
could not have been much more than half her own, and 
who reprimanded her in such an authoritative manner. 

“ I’se clar done out wiv de ’sponsibility ob yo’ two 
misses, I is,” sighed Gipsy, dolefully, seating herself on 
the trunk of a fallen tree, which had been left undis- 


38 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


turbed where the hand of time had cast it, because its 
position gave a certain mystic beauty to the place. 

“ Well, Gipsy, you may be excused from further attend- 
ance upon me to-day,” said Nina. “ I am thinking about 
something which troubles me very much ; and I want to 
be alone.” 

“Yo’ll tink so hard yo’ll drap yo’ shawl, an’ ketch 
cold, an’ den Aunt Dinah’ll say ’dat chile Gyp ain’t to be 
trusted, no how, an’ Massa Chestah an’ Miss Flossie’ll 
say ’at little nigs like me ain’t no ’count. I’ll set right 
still. Miss Nina, but I ’fers to stay. Yo’ can tink all yo’ 
wants to; I won’t ’sturb yo’ the leastest mite.” 

And the child settled herself in a more comfortable 
position, with a determination on her small black face, 
which seemed to defy contradiction. 

Nina walked nearer to'the river’s edge, and continued 
to watch the vivid flames of color which illumed the 
Western sky. Carmine, and gold, and amethyst, were re- 
splendent against the darker background, and the whole 
earth and sky seemed flooded with rosy mist. 

“ Oh, it is beautiful, beautiful,” sighed Nina. “All 
earth and heaven is beautiful. Who made it all if there 
is no God ? Who gives the flowers rain, that they may 
unfold their wondrous beauty ? Who piles up the moun- 
tains in rugged grandeur? Who bids the seasons each to 
yield in turn buds, and blossoms, and grain for man’s use 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


39 


and enjoyment ? Whose wisdom is so plainly revealed in 
all the workings of nature, if not God’s ? ” 

“ Oh ! my Heavenly Father ! whom I have loved, and 
trusted, and worshiped, for more than fifteen years, must 
I lose you now ? Can I live without the guiding hand 
which has been my shelter and my comfort in times of 
doubt and trouble? Will they prove to me, some day, 
that there is no God ? that my blessed Saviour was only 
a man, like other men? and that the joy which fills my 
heart because I have perfect trust in him, is'’ all a delu- 
sion ? ” 

Unconsciously her small hands clasped in the fervor 
and intensity of her emotions. 

“Florence ridicules my religion, and Grandpapa 
Chester frowns on me whenever the subject is men- 
tioned. They both lament my superstitious schooling, as 
they call my happy life spent with papa and mamma 
Bruce, with dear Eider Williams for my instructor. 
And Grandpapa Chester said — this very day — that I had 
been allowed to go on in this dreadful way long enough. 
He had hoped — those were his very words — that I would 
become convinced of my error by reading the books in 
his library, and by new associates and surroundings. I 
have never read one of those dreadful books ; and my 
heart is always so full of God’s goodness, that there is no 
room for a doubt to creep in ; but now he ” — with a piti- 


40 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


fill quiver in her voice — “ he says that my case requires 
more rigid treatment. I do not know what he will do. 
Take my Bible away from me, perhaps ; refuse to allow 
me to attend church ; deny me the privilege of visiting 
papa and mamma Bruce at Live Oaks ; and oh ! worst 
of all, compel me to read those awful books, which make 
me shiver just to look at them. It is dreadful to think 
of the creatures God has made sitting in judgment 
against their Maker, and filling great shelves with books 
in a vain attempt to overthrow the one Book that God 
has given us.” 

Then, as the short. Southern twilight closed about her, 
and the last of the sunset’s flashes flamed across the sky, 
Nina raised her voice once more in an earnest suppli- 
cation : 

“ Help me, oh my Father ! who art strong and able to 
fight this battle for me, and then the way which seems so 
dark to me now shall be plain before me. Help me to 
keep my faith in thee, and grant my heart’s desire.” 

“And w'hat is your heart’s desire, dear?” asked a 
pleasant voice near her. 

Colonel Chester had come upon her suddenly. His 
footsteps had made no sound on the grassy lawn. He 
had heard but a part of the last sentence she had spoken. 
His voice would have lost its pleasant tone, had he known 
she was addressing her Heavenly Father. As it was, he 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


41 


thought it was some girlish desire to which she was giving 
expression ; and he mentally decided, that if it lay in his 
power to grant it, it should be done. 

She turned her startled eyes, and saw him standing 
before her, with such a kindly expression on his face, 
that it did not seem possible that he could be angry with 
her because she loved and trusted God. 

“ Oh, grandpapa,’^ she said, coming close to him, and 
laying both tender little hands entreatingly on his arm, 
“you have done so much for me to make my life happy. 
You never refuse me any request that you can grant, and 
it seems so ungrateful in me not to be perfectly happy 
with you ; but ” 

“Well, puss?” He pinched her pink cheek, play- 
fully. 

“ I — oh, grandpapa ! there is one thing I do desire so 
much. I could be happy if you had not this beautiful 
home, and all the nice things to lavish upon me. 1 could 
be very happy with you in one of those little adobe 
houses, with no servant at all, and just me to cook and 
make tea for you, if ” 

He smiled encouragingly ; and she continued, appre- 
hensively : 

“ If you loved God, and ” 

“ Stop, Nina ! ” his voice thundered, in its deepest bass. 
The benevolent expression went out of his eyes, the 


42 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


kindly look fled from his face, and a stern displeasure 
took their place. 

“ Sit down here, Nina,” he said, in grave tones, leading 
the trembling girl to the fallen tree, from which Gipsy 
had fled precipitately, a wild terror on her ebony face 
and in her distended eyes, the moment Colonel Chester’s 
angry tones reached her. 

“ I ’clar’ fo’ goodness ef it ain’t a’ cornin’ now, fo’ sure,” 
her trembling lips articulated. “Miss Nina bettah be 
car’ful how she rouses him. He’s like a big storm-wind 
when he’s wild. I’d better warn Aunt Dinah an’ de rest 
to keep out ob his way ; an’ I ’vises Gyp to make herself 
scarce till it blows ober.” 

Colonel Chester led his granddaughter to a seat, in 
courtly solemnity. 

“ Nina,” he began, gravely, “ it is time I had a serious 
talk with you on this subject. My ideas concerning God 
and religion are not thoughtlessly acquired, by any means. 
I have studied the subject with the ^wisest, most brilliant 
minds in the w'orld to assist me in arriving at correct con- 
clusions. If I thought your present delusion w'ould do 
you no harm, I would not interfere ; but I believe that 
superstitions, and wrong ideas of life, are weakening to 
the intellect and to the moral force which governs our 
actions. You consider me a good man, and a just one. 
Do you not ? ” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


43 


“ Yes, sir.’’ 

“ And yet my record has been a moral one, a voluntary 
one, builded by my own strength and integrity of pur- 
pose. I ask no assistance from a higher power. I 
acknowledge no higher power than man’s own will and 
determination to do right. On the other hand, behold 
the miserable, self-acknowledged weakness of him who 
relies wholly on God’s strength, God’s wisdom, God’s 
infinite mercy. Let me ask you, Nina, is there any real 
manhood or womanhood in such an existence as this ? ” 

At this moment. Dyke came across the lawn to where 
Colonel Chester and Nina were sitting; and without 
waiting for Nina’s reply. Colonel Chester accosted the 
boy. 

“ Come here. Dyke,” he called. And then, as Dyke 
approached — “ I do not know what your religious train- 
ing may have been in the past ; but I wish you to listen 
to our conversations on the subject.” 

“ Precious little religious training I’ve had,” remarked 
Dyke, dryly, as he flung himself on the grass at their 
feet. “Mamma doesn’t believe there is any God, or 
heaven, or that other place, or anything at all. I think 
she did sort o’ half-way believe something of the kind 
once ; but when papa drank up everything, and kept get- 
ting worse all the while, and our home was sold, and 
Blossom died, why then she just said she’d rather not 


44 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


believe at all than to think God could be so cruel to one 
of the creatures he had made.” 

A sudden light came into Nina’s downcast eyes. 

“That is it,” said Colonel Chester, appreciatively. 
“ Taking it for granted that there is a God, why does 
he allow all these miseries to come upon humanity?” 

“ Grandpapa, don’t you think we have the power to do 
as we choose ? ” asked Nina. 

“ Certainly, most certainly.” 

“ Then, if you took an ax, and cut your hand off, 
would God be to blame for it ? ” 

“ No, of course not. I alone would be responsible for 
such an insane action, unless my brain was crazed. I 
would have to be demented to do anything like that. 
People do not attempt such rash things, Nina.” 

“ Well, suppose you took poison,” continued Nina. 
“ Something which had killed hundreds of others, and 
you knew it ? ” 

“ The case is similar to the other,” he replied, with the 
least suspicion of irritability in his voice. 

“ Yes, just the same ; but I want you to see it as I do,” 
replied the girl, earnestly. “ Suppose the poison, which 
was taking hundreds of people every year into their 
graves, had no real bad effect at first — that is, in small 
doses ; but almost always there came a time when the 
dose would be large enough to kill. What would you 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


45 


say about the man who began to taste of it, knowing all 
the time what it had done for others?’^ 

“I’d call him a downright fool,” cried Dyke, indig- 
nantly. “ But there never was such a fool, I know.” 

“And you, grandpapa ? ” questioned Nina, earnestly — 
“would you think God responsible for that man’s death, 
if he kept taking the poison which he knew had killed 
others, and would in all probability kill him, sooner or 
later? Would God be responsible for that? ” 

“ No, hardly, in such a case as that.” 

“ Then suppose the poison cost a great deal of money, 
and unfitted the man for work while he was taking it, so 
that he could not earn more; and suppose that it took 
all he had ever earned to keep him supplied with it — 
ought God to be blamed because he was poor ? ” 

“ No one with a spark of sense would do it,” exclaimed 
Dyke. 

“ Of course, the man’s wife and children would suffer. 
But ought people to say, ‘ How cruel God is not to feed 
and clothe them,’ when all the time the man was doing 
everything in his power to deny them comforts?” 

“ Nina,” said Colonel Chester, “ what are you trying to 
prove ? ” 

“ That God is never responsible for the dreadful things 
laid up against him,” she replied quickly, with a flush on 
her cheeks. 


46 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ But wasn’t God to blame — if there is a God — for all 
the sorrow 'which came to mamma?” asked Dyke. 

“ Your papa drank all the poison which had killed 
others, Dyke. He knew it had killed them, and made 
their homes wretched, and yet he drank it. Who is to 
blame for your mamma’s misery — God, or rum ? ” 

“ Bum, of course. I see it as plain as day,” cried 
Dyke, exultantly. “ I’m going to tell mamma the very 
things you’ve said to-day. She never would see it, if she 
thought I w’as talking of rum at first; but I’ll blind her, 
as you did us, with the ax, and so forth.” 

“ Granted that many of our ills are the results of our 
own wrong-doing,” said Colonel Chester. “ Still, how do 
you excuse God in the case of sickness and death ? ” 

“ That’s so, how do you?” cried Dyke, WTiggling about 
as the discussion 'W'axed more interesting. “That’s the 
main thing mamma has laid up against God — little Blos- 
som’s death.” 

“I remember you told me that it was a very cold 
morning, and Blossom had no shoes,” said Nina. “And 
your mamma sent her on an errand, and she took cold. 
Who was to blame because she had no shoes?” 

“ Papa. He drank them all up.” 

“And who was to blame that she went out into the 
cold?” 

“ Mamma. She has blamed herself ever since. But 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


47 


Blossom had been out of doors before on cold days, and 
hadn’t taken cold ; and mamma needed the errand done 
right bad, and I wasn’t there, and she was too busy to go 
herself.” 

“ There are plenty of excuses for people, and none for 
God,” replied Nina, sadly. “And yet your mamma knew 
that there were great chances of her taking cold — about 
as much danger of it as there would have been of burn- 
ing her hand if she put it in the fire.” 

“ Uncle Andrew, I guess that Nina has come out ahead 
of us this time, and we’ll have to give up that God isn’t 
responsible for our misfortunes.” 

“ That has nothing to do with the case,” said Colonel 
Chester, severely. “All this discussion is in view of there 
being a God ; and the fact I wish impressed upon your 
minds is that there is no such being at all.” 

“But if there is, he is a just God, as far as we are con- 
cerned,” returned Dyke. 

Colonel Chester frowned. He had hoped to prove con- 
clusively that in case God existed, he was cruel and 
unjust; and this simple child, whom he had regarded as 
too trusting and credulous, believing what others told her 
without a thought of her own, had shown him that she 
had deeper thoughts than he imagined possible. As yet, 
he had not gained the vantage ground he had expected 
to reach in a few well-chosen sentences. 


48 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


If he could once prove to Nina that the God she loved 
was cruel, tyrannical, and altogether unworthy of her 
adoration, it would be much easier to convince her that 
there was no God at all. He hoped to show her, through 
scientific researches, that the world had come into exist- 
ence independent of this mystical power, to which she 
attributed all things. The girl’s simple arguments had 
disconcerted him somewhat, though he would not acknowl- 
edge the fact. Her tact in laying before him the truth 
she wished to illustrate, in a form foreign to the subject, 
and then making the application after having gained his 
opinion, had brought the matter before him in a new 
light. Colonel Chester was a just man, and he acknowl- 
edged one truth he had never admitted before, viz. : that 
many of the ills and misfortunes of life attributed to 
God, are entirely the result of man’s own actions and 
WTong doing. 

This much had Nina gained in that conversation by 
the river. What had Colonel Chester gained in his short 
argument ? 

“ To prove to your young minds that there is no God, 
I shall mark some passages and chapters in works I have 
on the subject, written by wise men, grown gray in the 
study of science and nature’s laws. My first object will 
be, to prove that the world has existed thousands of years 
beyond the time mentioned in the Bible as its creation. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


49 


I shall insist that you read these passages ; or, better, I 
will read them to you myself. We will set apart a 
certain time each day for this reading. I deem it essen- 
tial for you to gain a knowledge of these things.’’ 

“ Grandpapa, is this to be a fair contest ? ” inquired 
Nina, half mischievously, half seriously. 

“ Certainly, my dear. I do not intend to be unjust in 
the matter. I want you to be thoroughly convinced, as 
Florence already is ; and this could not be if I denied 
you the privilege of asking questions.” 

Then,” said Nina, “ although it makes cold shudders 
go all over me to think of being obliged to listen to those 
arguments, I will do so, if you will allow me to read 
aloud one chapter in a book I have, for every chapter 
you read; if I may bring one illustration; one conclu- 
sion ; one little story for every such an one you read ? ” 

“ That’s only fair. Uncle Andrew,” shouted Dyke, joy- 
ously. 

“And this book, Nina — is it the Bible?” Colonel 
Chester asked. 

“ Yes, sir, it is,” she replied, with a glad uplifting of 
the brown eyes, which never met his own without remind- 
ing him of his dead wife. “ You have whole book-shelves 
filled with worldly wisdom, which you are going to bring 
forth to convince me. I have only one book — God’s 

book. You have a long life-time of study and thought 

D 


50 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


to assist you in selecting the right passages, and the most 
convincing arguments to expound. I have only my love 
of God, and my reliance on him to help me, and to guide 
me in seeking the words which shall reveal him in his 
glory as Creator of heaven and earth, and of the men 
who wrote those books. You surely need have no fear of 
a little girl like me, and her one book.” 

“ No, indeed,’ he hastened to reply. “ I have no fear, 
except that you will occupy so much of our precious 
time with your book of fairy tales, that we shall all, 
probably, go to sleep while you are reading.” 

“ I will promise to keep you awake,” she said, laugh- 
ing; her old joyousness coming back at his reluctant 
consent. 

“ Very well. Then we will drop the subject for the 
present, and I will tell you the errand which brought me 
here. You young folks have noticed what beautiful fall 
w'eather we are having ? ” 

“ It is delightful,” exclaimed Nina, rapturously. “Why, 
grandpapa,” she added, in amazement, “while we have 
been talking the moon has risen and the stars have come 
out. There never were such beautiful evenings in all the 
world as these.” 

“And yet,” said Colonel Chester, “although day has 
finished and night begun, still there is no suspicion of 
unwholesome dampness in the air. Now, what I want to 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 51 

propose to you, is a visit to the old Spanish Mission to- 
morrow.” 

“ I second the motion,” cried Dyke, in exultation, roll- 
ing over on the ground by way of emphasis. 

“ Dh, grandpapa, it will be such enjoyment,” added 
Nina, enthusiastically. 

“We will make a sort of family picnic,” continued 
Colonel Chester; “and will take Aunt Dinah along to 
oversee the eatables, and Gipsy to superintend the whole 
affair.” 

“ Of course,” assented Nina. “ Gipsy must not miss 
the treat.” 

“And Jake to drive, and mamma to give due solem- 
nity to the occasion, and Florence to see that our happi- 
ness does not go beyond the bounds of strict propriety, 
and Uncle Andrew for ballast, and Nina and me for 
filling up the chinks,” enumerated Dyke, delightedly. 

“ We want you wholly for the purpose of climbing 
pecan trees,” said Colonel Chester, laughing. 

“You don’t mean — oh, you can’t mean that we are 
going pecaning too?” 

Dyke fairly held his breath for the reply. 

“ That is just what I do mean. Nuts bought are not 
half so sweet as those gathered, and I have a ranch with 
enough large pecan trees on it for our purpose. So I 
would advise you to be up early in the morning.” 


52 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I’m not sure that I shall go to bed at all. Oh, Nina, 
isn’t this — ‘ scrumptious,’ as Gyp would say?” 

“ It is so kind of you, grandpapa, to give us such a 
pleasure,” Nina said — rewarding him with a loving kiss. 

“Tut, tut, puss. I am as anxious for the sport as 
you. So you see there was a streak of selfishness back 
of it, after all.” 

He walked toward the house as he spoke. 

“ I do believe he would be the best man in the world, 
if he only loved God,” mused Nina, following more 
slowly. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE OLD SPANISH MISSION. 



WO girls stood on the side gallery of the Chester 


X homestead, in the glorious beauty of a cloudless au- 
tumn morning. Both were dressed in neat, close-fitting 
dresses, of some dark, warm material, with jaunty sailor 
hats, perched coquettishly on their heads. 

They were pretty girls, with lovely yellow hair, and 
fair complexions. One had brown eyes, the other blue. 
One had a sunshiny, happy face ; the other a discontented, 
sullen one. 

“ It is a beautiful day,” said Nina. 

“ The sun will be hot at noon,” replied Florence. 

“ I have wanted to visit the Mission ever since I came 
South,” rejoined Nina. 

“Tiresome, old things. I had rather stay at home, 
only that one must go somewhere,” replied Florence. 

“'And gathering pecans, Flossie. That will be such 
sport.” 

“ Nothing but boy’s play, and unfit for young ladies 
like us.” 

“Oh, Flossie! You deny yourself so much happi- 

53 


54 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


ness in life, because you won’t see the beautiful things, or 
let enjoyment come to you.” 

“ I am sure I wish I could,” replied Florence, with a 
quiver in her voice. “ I would give anything to be as 
happy as you are. But I believe I am discontented nat- 
urally, and I am just as unhappy as I can be. If I 
knew your secret of happiness I would try and get it 
for myself.” 

“ No, Flossie ; you would not have it at all.” 

“ What is it? Tell me, at any rate.” 

“ You would be angry if I were to tell you.” 

“ There is not much danger of making me feel any 
worse,” replied Florence. 

“ Then Flossie, believe me I should be as unhappy and 
discontented and miserable as you are if I did not love 
and trust God. It is such a delight to feel that he loves 
me and is with me at all times. Sometimes I have been 
startled ; but the moment I remembered that God rules 
all things, and that he will not let harm come to me, 
then I feel perfectly safe.” 

“ You have never been in any real danger,” said Flor- 
ence. “ I think you would be as frightened as any one if 
you knew you were about to die.” 

“ I might be afraid of death, and the pain of it,” re- 
plied Nina; “but not of what comes after. When the 
time comes I shall be glad to go home.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


55 


“ I am most afraid of the hereafter,” replied Florence. 
“ It is such an awful blank.” 

“ But why do you fear it, if you believe as truly in 
your way as I do mine ? You think there is nothing at 
all after death. Then why not enjoy the birds, the flow- 
ers, and the sunshine? You ought to strive to be doubly 
happy in this life, Flossie, because you have no hope of 
any thing beyond.” 

“Yes, I ought,” replied the girl, sadly; “but I can't, 
Nina. Sometimes I have such a dreadful fear. I cannot 
explain it to you. I ask myself, ‘ What if I am mistaken, 
after all, and there is a God who will punish me for my 
unbelief? ' I would not have grandpapa know, for the 
world, that such thoughts come to me ; but they do. They 
come sometimes when I am happiest, and they shadow 
my whole life. I wish I could get rid of them altogether, 
or else feel secure in God’s love, as you do.” 

“ Oh, Flossie, I never thought you had a doubt on the 
subject. I thought you were convinced beyond a doubt, 
as Grandpapa Chester is. There are hopes of you yet, 
and I will show you how to be happy, if you will let me.” 

In her rapturous delight, Nina flung her arms about 
Florence’s neck and kissed her ; and for once Florence 
did not repel her caress, or suggest that her ruflf would 
be disarranged. 

Nina’s happy, thankful life, spent in Florence’s society. 


56 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


though it had been but a few months, had borne good 
fruit; for Florence began to realize the difference betw'een 
the true and the false way of living. 

“ Nina, do you know I sometimes suspect that grand- 
papa is not so confident in his way of thinking as he 
wants others to believe ? I think he keeps all those dry, 
old books to help him out.” 

The two girls were standing on the gallery near an 
open window, and they now seated themselves on a rustic 
seat close to it. 

“ Do you think so ? Oh, Flossie, I pray every night 
and morning that God will convert him. I have not had 
a single thing yet to give me hope, only God’s promise to 
answer prayer ; but if I thought that ever a doubt of his 
present belief entered his head, I would feel sure there 
was room for conviction of the truth. Have you any 
reasons for thinking that he ever doubts the non-existence 
of God?” 

“ Yes, a great many. One day we were riding past a 
miserable adobe house, and something gave out in the 
harness. We stopped and went to ask the woman of the 
place for a piece of rope ; but there was no w’oman to be 
seen. We went up to the door, which was open, and then 
we heard a voice ; and looking in we saw a woman kneel- 
ing by the bedside of a man who looked as if he was 
dead. She was praying to God ; and I never heard any- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


57 


thing like her prayer. She was not ignorant ; for she used 
the best of language. She told God all about her trouble 
— how they had come to America in hopes of finding 
employment ; how the children had died, one by one, be- 
cause they had not proper food and clothing, and now the 
last little one and her husband lay dying; they were 
starving for want of food. She then said this, Nina. I 
shall never forget it as long as I live. After something 
about trusting in God even though he slew her, she said : 
‘ I hnow that thou wilt not take my last child and my 
dear husband. I know that thou wilt not leave me 
desolate in a strange land. I know that thou wilt send 
help before it is too late, and we shall all live to praise 
thy name, and to do a work for thee.’ Oh, Nina, 
there was not a shadow of doubt in her voice, though 
she was in such a dreadful situation. It was like a 
glad, triumphant shout ; there was no uncertainty about 
it, and the man’s weak voice said, ‘Amen,’ when she 
had finished. Now, Nina, the strange, strange part of it 
all is yet to come. You know how kind-hearted and 
generous grandpapa is ? ” 

“ Yes ; did he help them ? ” 

“ Well, you would say so if you could see them now. 
I think he will drive past there to-day. Grandpapa gave 
them money and provisions. He sent a doctor there, and 
every word of that woman’s prayer was answered. They 


58 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


told grandpapa that God had sent him there, and that he 
was God’s agent to answer their prayer. Well, Nina, 
after that grandpapa read his big books a great deal ; 
but I know he could not help acknowledging that what 
they said seemed true.” 

From an easy-chair inside the window an elderly 
gentleman arose, and silently quitted the room. He had 
heard every word of his granddaughter’s conversation, 
and, strange as it may seem, he was not angry. 

At that moment the carriage and the wagon drove up 
to the side entrance, and Jake shouted, “All aboard!” 
which was the signal for a general confusion in and 
about the house. 

Mrs. Randall came out with her arms loaded with 
extra wraps for herself and the girls. Aunt Dinah, 
feeling the responsibility of her position, and gorgeously 
arrayed in gown and turban representing all the bril- 
liant colors of the rainbow, came walking out from the 
back door, with a lunch-basket in one hand, and a tin 
pail in the other. 

Gipsy sprang down the path leading to the wagon. 
Dyke could not resist one hearty “hurrah,” and one 
toss of his hat in the air by way of emphasis. Nina 
and Florence walked to the carriage arm in arm, and 
Colonel Chester brought up the rear. 

Then began the business of stowing them all away. 


THE CHESTEK GIRLS. 


69 


“ Let me ’sist yo’ inter de kerrage, Aunt Dinah,” said 
Jake, with his most deferential bow. “Han’ me de 
lunch-basket fust. Dis kerrage takes de provisions an’ 
de combustables ; so come, let me lead yo’ in.” 

“ Now, yo’ Jake, jes’ you keep yo’ mouf to yo’sel, an* 
min’ yo’ own business,” said Aunt Dinah, severely. 
“ None of yo’ liv’ty on dis occaseion.” 

Mrs. Randall and the two girls occupied the inside of 
the family carriage, with Colonel Chester as driver, and 
Dyke his assistant. Following them came the light 
wagon, with the servants anti the provisions. 

After leaving the city behind, they entered a long, 
shady road, so decidedly Southern in its appearance, so 
picturesque and altogether romantic, that Nina gazed 
down its shadowy length in silent admiration. 

“ This is ‘ Lovers’ Lane,’ ” Florence informed her com- 
panions. And Nina declared that the name just suited 
the place. 

And now, as these girls are visiting real places, which 
actually exist in Texas, near San Antonio, and which 
many of our 3"oung readers can only visit by the aid of 
books, we want to make the description so plain that they 
may not only enjoy the trip also, but may see in imagina- 
tion what the Chester girls saw in reality. 

There are many roads winding out of the city toward 
the Mission ; in fact, the whole country appears to be 


60 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


literally checkered with these numerous roads. This is 
partly due to the adhesive quality of the soil in the rainy 
season, and the natural desire of teamsters to avoid bad 
places. They are constantly “ cutting across,” and in 
this way making new roads through the mesquite bushes. 
Mesquite is a Mexican word, and these bushes and trees, 
which grow abundantly over what was formerly prairie 
lands, may be found in nearly all parts of Texas. The 
wood is of a reddish-brown color, and is much used for 
building purposes, and also as fire-wood. 

They drove past fine residences, with wide, cool galle- 
ries on all sides ; past cottage homes, also abundantly 
provided with galleries to protect them from the fierce, 
hot sunshine ; past unsightly plank houses, unkept, 
untidy, but with their own miserable awnings to keep out 
the sun’s burning breath ; past Mexican hovels, built of 
material gleaned from the city’s refuse. Casf-away tin 
cans are gathered up by beings who inhabit these dwell- 
ings, and who scarcely seem human in their wretched- 
ness and degradation — scarcely human in their indiffer- 
ence to filth and squalor, and their contentment with 
the lowest kind of existence. They gather the tin cans 
from the refuse heaps, then cut and pound them into flat 
pieces, or shingles of tin. These are fastened together, 
and form the sides and the roof of their houses. 

Sometimes these houses are built on a side hiil, and a 


I 


I 

I 








■•S » 



t 





1 


>• 




b 






i 

* 

« 


t 




& . . i 






/f 





I . 




* 



' ^ i 

* * ' 






N 







« 

(» 




► ♦ 


1 

s 


b 






1 


*4 




-f^ 

> 


I 


• 

• •\ 








m 


« 


4i 


I 




« 


i 






A' 


» I 



»«• 


. . 



. jt 

- > 


» 


4 





. . * 





is® 

i 

;iiij 


Chester Girls 


Page 61 











THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


61 


small quantity of the tin cans is then required, because the 
sleeping apartment is burrowed out of the hill, which 
forms three sides, and a roof to it, and there is only one 
remaining side to be protected from the cold northers. 
In these homes whole families live — men and women, 
grandparents and little children; nor do they seem to 
desire any better mode of existence. 

Soon after our little party had left the city streets, two 
towers of stone, with a dome at the rear, arose in view, 
above the dense mesquite bushes. 

On reaching the Mission Concepcion, the horses were 
secured to the fence, which was built across the front ; and, 
with Colonel Chester leading the way, the little party en- 
tered the enclosure. 

The main part, or chapel, is quite imposing, with its 
dome and towers, while at the side of this, a long, low 
building extends, terminating in a dilapidated stable, 
where a meek-eyed jenny munched contentedly at the 
scanty provision dealt out, and gazed upon the visitors 
with the utmost stoicism. 

The entire roof of this long addition to the main build- 
ing was covered with earth and vegetation. 

These things attracted the attention of the young 
people, while Colonel Chester went in quest of the key, 
which was in the possession of a family who occupied a 
part of the ruins, presumably for the purpose of caring 


62 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


for the place — their remuneration for such service being 
the voluntary contributions of its victors. 

“ Just look at the roof/' cried Dyke, in amazement. 
“ I do believe there is a foot of soil on it. Only see the 
bushes and grass growing there. How do you suppose 
the earth came there, Nina?” 

But Nina was puzzled, and Colonel Chester returning 
at that moment, with a solemn-faced child bearing the 
key in her small hands, Dyke appealed to him to ex- 
plain the mystery. 

“ This Mission,” he replied, “ is called Concepcion — a 
part of its original name. It was founded in 1731, long 
ago, was it not?” 

“ I should think so,” replied Dyke, regarding the an- 
cient edifice almost reverently, on account of its age. 
“ More than a hundred and fifty years ago.” 

“ And during all of those hundred and fifty years, the 
strong North winds have scooped up the old dry earth, 
pulverized by the intense heat of our long, hot summers ; 
have lifted it in clouds of dust, and hurled it forward, 
until it found a lodging place on yonder ancient roof. 
Little by little it settled there ; and then the same North 
winds, assisted by the birds, brought seeds, and perhaps 
tjiiy twigs, which took root, until, behold, a part of the 
old Mission house is buried, and shrubs and small trees 
grow over its tomb.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


63 


Nina drew a long breath. Her poetic nature was 
thrilled with his pretty description of the manner in which 
the soil and the vegetation found lodgment on the old 
Mission roof. 

The sad-eyed child unlocked the great front door, and 
stood aside respectfully to allow them to enter. She then 
followed them inside the portal, and watched their move- 
ments with solemn, earnest gaze. 

Mrs. Randall was attracted by the small, unchildish 
face and sad expression, and she stopped to say some 
kindly words to her ; but her efforts were rewarded by 
that same sorrowful stare. 

The room in which they found themselves was large 
and high, with a strange and awful chill pervading it. 
Massive stone walls were on all sides ; a few rough wooden 
benches gave the idea that worship was still conducted 
there, and images of “ the Virgin Mother ” and “ Our 
Saviour,” in tattered, moth-eaten garments, with ghastly 
features, adorned niches and pedestals constructed for 
that purpose. The Mission’s belongings seemed quite as 
old as the building itself; but our little party had no 
means of ascertaining their exact age. 

It was with sighs of relief that they filed out into the 
warm sunshine, leaving the rooms with their “ chill of 
death,” and their tawdry, old-time grandeur behind. 

The child with the key followed their exit as solemnly 


64 


THE CHESTER GIRI^. 


as she had conducted their entrance; and not even the 
round silver dollar which Colonel Chester laid in her 
small hand, and which was seventy-five cents more than 
her usual fee, had power to bring one gleam of pleasure 
into her troubled eyes. 

It took the party some little time to recover from the 
depressing influence of the place. 

Just as they were seating themselves in the carriage, 
the wagon containing the substantial part of their pleas- 
ure trip came in sight. 

“ I do not think you will care to visit the Mission, 
Jake?’* questioned Colonel Chester, with a sly twinkle in 
his eyes. 

“ No, sah. I han’t got much idee ’bout dem places, 
what smell lik de grabe.” 

“ Jake got badly frightened once at the Mission San 
Jose,” ' remarked Colonel Chester, addressing his sister, 
“ and it is my opinion that he will give the place a wide 
berth this time.” 

‘‘ What frightened him. Uncle Andrew ? ” questioned 
Dyke, curiously. 

“ San Jose, is by far the finest of all the Missions,” re- 
plied Colonel Chester, standing with the carriage door open 
in his hand, while he related the story of Jake’s fright, 
before taking his place on Jake’s usual seat, as coach- 


I Pronounced San Hoza. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


65 


man, pro tempore. It was founded, or rather commenced, 
in 1718, and completed in 1771. It is on the right bank 
of the San Antonio River, and was at one time an elegant 
structure. It still retains much of its ancient grandeur, 
though vandal hands have despoiled it of its glory. Vis- 
itors to San Antonio rarely go away without visiting the 
Mission, and, especially at San Jose, secure some memento 
of the place — usually, a bit of the carved wood, with 
which the doors, casings, and windows were superbly or- 
namented. At length these “ clippings ” became so fre- 
quent, that now comparatively little of the ‘fine art* 
remains. 

“ Some of them, bolder, less scrupulous, and with little 
reverence for the images which are sacred in the eyes of 
some, coveted the marble statuary which adorns the 
grand front portal. Piece by piece, the twelve apostles 
have been chipped away to satisfy this craze for souve- 
nirs; the statue of the Virgin Mother and Child has 
been sadly defaced; and that of St. Gregory is now 
scarcely recognizable. A celebrated artist by the name 
of Huicar, from Spain, spent years in carving the statues 
and other ornamental parts of the building. 

“But as to ‘ Jake’s fright.’ This craze for souvenirs at- 
tacked Aunt Dinah severely, and nothing would suit her 
purpose except some part of the Virgin Mother or Child. 

She nearly worried Jake’s life out of him, with her im- 
E 


66 


THE CHESTER GIRHS. 


portunities to secure for her this memento ; and the last 
time he drove some friends of mine to the Mission, he 
slipped away, while they were scaling the outer tower, 
and dexterously climbed the front portal, by clinging 
with feet and hands to the carved projections. Having 
reached the desired height, he began, with a huge jack- 
knife, to pry off the Virgin Mother’s nose; determined 
that Aunt Dinah should be amply satisfied. 

“This is the story as Jake relates it. He had suc- 
ceeded in loosening the nose a trifle, when a voice in 
stern, sepulchral tones demanded: 

“ ‘ What yo’ a-doin’ up dar’ ? ’ 

“And looking down, Jake declares that one of the old 
priests, who helped to found the Mission, arose slowly 
and majestically, from one of the graves which you will 
notice a short distance from the front portal, and re- 
garded him with disapproving eyes.” 

“What did Jake do then?” impatiently interrogated 
Dyke. 

“Just what might have been expected,” said Colonel 
Chester, laughing. “ He was so badly frightened that he 
lost his hold, and fell, with a great, crash, to the ground. 
It is a wonder it did not kill him ; but he says that he 
had no more than fallen to the ground than he ‘ got out 
ob dar libly,’ and I think he did ; for my friends w'ere 
just coming down from the tower when he confronted 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


67 


them with a scared face, and wildly rolling eyes. As 
soon as he could speak he told them his story, and im- 
plored them on, his knees, not to go near the front portal 
again, but to get away from the haunted place at once. 

“ They laughed at him, and went in search of the priest 
who had frightened Jake in his sacrilegious attempt to 
deface the Virgin Mother. Among the graves they dis- 
covered a solemn-faced goat, and decided that this was 
the priest who spoke to Jake in sepulchral tones. 

“Jake never tires of relating his adventure,” continued 
the Colonel, “ and his ebony companions have all heard 
about the priest with his thin face, hollow eyes, and long, 
pointed white beard, who asked the harrowing question : 
‘What yo’ a- doin’ up dar?’ My friends said that the 
moment he had gotten them into the carriage, he mounted 
his seat, and drove away from the terrible place, with a 
reckless disregard to holes in the road, springing of the 
carriage, or the personal comfort of its inmates, who were 
jostled and bumped about fearfully, in his mad attempt 
to get away from the priest who had come back to earth 
to rebuke him for his assault upon the holy mother s 
nose.” 

“Marse Chestah” — called out Jake, who had driven 
some distance toward the second Mission, and had re- 
turned to ask an important question — “ dar’s no ’casion 
fo’ dis wehicle to go way roun’ out ob de way, is dar? 


68 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ None whatever,” said the colonel, smiling. 

“ Den we jes’ cuts ’cross to de campin’ groun’, an’ sabes 
a good mile, an’ heaps ob onnecessary trabble an’ sweat,” 
replied Jake, in tones of evident relief. “ We’ll hab de 
coffee a bilin, an’ the bobbycue in co’se ob. preparation, 
when yo’ gets dar.’ ’ 

And he turned his horses into a by-road, which would 
take him past the dreaded Mission San Jose, at a safe 
distance. 

A ride of two miles over a delightful country road, 
where the winding river appeared and disappeared at un- 
expected intervals, making cool and picturesque gleams 
in the pleasant landscape, brought them to the grand old 
ruins of San Jose. 

It seems as if we were in the old world,” said Nina, 
viewing the immense and imposing structure. 

There are still traces of its former grandeur in the 
great, front portal, and the window at the side ; but the 
finger of time, assisted by vandal hands, has marked the 
word “ ruin ” upon every part of the building. The roof 
has fallen in ; the walls are crumbling away ; the arches, 
and tower, the trembling stair-way, even the little room 
where religious services, it is said, are conducted once a 
year, all are fast drifting into the historic past. 

The guardian of the place is an old Mexican woman, 
who comes with the keys, when summoned, and, with 





a 


Chester Girls 


Page 68 








4 


i 




V 


$ 


s 



% • 


r 


u 




# ♦ 


• H 

* 





W t 

I 



» 





# 


• • 








I 



« 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


69 


reverential hand, opens the great, gloomy, weak-jointed 
door, and ushers the party into what is to her the “ holy 
of holies.” 

The entire end of the room is covered with a drapery 
of fine and intricate patch-work, in fiowers and buds 
and leaves, with tiny blocks and tri-squares and stars 
and moons, and dozens of unclassified objects, neatly 
joined together in every color of the rainbow. 

This old Mexican woman has. spent years of her life 
in ornamenting the place which, to her, is a sacred 
shrine. 

There are rare old paintings on the walls, defaced by 
time; and they are, perhaps, the only valuable things the 
room contains. A small table at one side is loaded with 
cheap toys, dolls, animals, and birds, in candy and tin, 
which have been offered to the infant Jesus, who smiles 
down upon the tawdry oflTerings from his mother’s arms. 

Fruits have also been offered at Christmas time, and, 
perhaps, on other holy days ; and are left to add their 
mouldy, decaying breath to the dampness and unwhole- 
someness of the place. 

A small portion of the room, more sacred than the rest, 
is partitioned off by extending a rope across from side to 
side. One may view the painted images and tinseled 
ornaments of this inner space from without, but no one 
must venture beyond the rope. 


70 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I would like to see those things on the farther table,” 
said Florence. 

“Well, come on, and you shall,” cried Dyke, leaping 
over the rope and entering the enclosure at a bound. 

“ Please do not go there,” entreated Nina, noticing the 
distressed expression of their guide’s face ; but Florence 
followed Dyke more leisurely, and began to examine the 
contents of the table, while the woman jabbered in a 
confused, unknown tongue, swinging her arms, crossing 
her breast, and gesticulating wildly. 

Nina was frightened at her frantic efforts to make her 
venturesome guests come forth without herself entering 
the sacred place. 

Colonel Chester and Mrs. Randall had seated them- 
selves on one of the rough benches, and were too deeply 
absorbed in conversation to notice what was taking 
place. 

The more closely Dyke and Florence examined that 
long draped table, the more wildly the Mexican woman 
gesticulated, and the more confused and incoherent her 
speech became. 

Colonel Chester and his sister finding the dampness 
and chill too depressing, sought the genial sunshine with- 
out ; and at that moment Florence stooped and lifted the 
cloth which draped the table, and concealed whatever 
was underneath it from view. 


THE CHESTEE GIRLS. 71 

The Mexican woman now became nearly frantic in her 
anxiety. 

Scarcely had Florence glanced beneath the table than 
she uttered a wild cry of terror, and fled from the room 
precipitately. 

Dyke remained only long enough to take a hasty 
glance at that which had startled Florence. His curiosity 
would not permit him to leave until he had done this, 
and he then followed her footsteps with a face nearly as 
white as her own ; and Nina, not caring to remain longer 
with the infuriated woman, came close behind them. 

With savage glances from her wild-looking eyes, and 
muttered imprecations, or prayers — the frightened chil- 
dren could not tell which — the Mexican woman relocked 
the door, put the key in her pocket, and still shaking her 
head, and muttering, walked away. 

“What was it?” questioned Nina, tremulously, while 
Colonel Chester and Mrs. Randall turned to listen to the 
reply. 

“A — a corpse,” faltered Florence, with a hysterical 
sob. 

“A dead man,” conflrmed Dyke, positively. 

“ Pshaw ! ” said Colonel Chester, laughing good-natur- 
edly. “ I presume that your dead man would develope 
into something like Jake’s ghost, if it was closely in- 
spected.” 


72 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I saw it plainly,” said Florence, emphatically. “ It 

had a white, dead face ” 

“And its eyes were closed,” interrupted Dyke, excitedly. 
“ Uncle Andrew, I believe that she has murdered some 
one, and hid him under the table. We ought to go right 
to the city and get a policeman to arrest her.” 

“I think that at the most you will find that the poor 
creature’s greatest sin is in her superstitious belief, and in 
that she is something like our Nina, here. If there is 
anything under the table which at all resembles a corpse, 
I think it is a wax figure to represent her crucified Lord. 
But we must finish our sight-seeing, and take our leave, 
or Jake will think his ghost has captured us all.” 

Dyke and Florence were compelled to accept Colonel 
Chester’s version of the appalling spectacle they had 
witnessed, but, as had been the case with Jake, it didn’t 
change their opinion in the least; and they actually 
thought that some dreadful crime had been committed 
at the Mission San Jose, by the black-browed Mexican 


woman. 


CHAPTER V. 


DYKES DISCOVERY. 



FTER leaving the Mission San Jose, the roads 


became so numerous, that' Colonel Chester, who 
had never driven through that part of the country- 
before, without Jake to hold the lines, became confused. 

“ How annoying,’^ he remarked, stopping the horse at 
a place where several roads led off in apparently differ- 
ent directions, and undecided which one to take. “ I’ve 
been over the ground times enough, and I ought to know 
the way to the Mission San Juan. I think that the roads 
all lead to the same place, however.” 

He therefore took one of them at a venture, and drove 
on. Presently he came to a new fence, with a huge gate 
barring further progress in that direction. 

“Some one has fenced this road in,” said Colonel 
Chester, in tones of annoyance. “1 am sure it is one of 
the roads which lead to San Juan, and to return and 
take another would consume so much time, that I think 
I shall continue on this one, gate or no gate. So, jump 
down, Dyke, and open the gate for us to pass through. 


73 


74 THE CHESTER GIRLS. 

There will be no harm done, if we shut the gate behind 
us.” 

Then began a novel experience of driving across 
ranches ; stopping every few moments to open and close 
gates, as they passed through ; but as the road seemed to 
be an old, well-traveled one. Colonel Chester had no fear 
of losing his way. 

When they had traveled what seemed to be twice the 
distance from San Jose to San Juan, and no familiar 
object met his view. Colonel Chester began to scan his 
surroundings with some anxiety. 

“ Have you lost the right road ? ” asked Mrs. Randall, 
from within. 

“ I fear so,” replied the Colonel ; and the fact is, I am 
ashamed to inquire the way. I have passed this way so 
often, I ought to be familiar with the place ; but every- 
thing looks strange to me. Aside from this, I am un- 
pleasantly hungry. It is an hour past the time we were 
to have had dinner.” 

“ I’m so hungry that I’m all hollow inside,” remarked 
Dyke, dolefully. 

Mrs. Randall and the girls said they were nearly 
famished. At which Colonel Chester declared his inten- 
tions of making inquiries at the next habitation, which 
proved to be one of those miserable Mexican hovels de- 
scribed in the preceding chapter. 


THE CHESTER GIE.LS. 


75 


This one appeared to be even more dilapidated and 
poverty-stricken than usual, with a filthy, lazy set of 
men, women, and children, sunning themselves in indo- 
lent attitudes about the place. 

A fat woman and a fat hog came forward to interview 
the strangers. The hog rubbed against the woman’s 
stained and discolored dress, most affectionately ; and 
Dyke, leaning back, asked Nina if she could tell, to a 
certainty, which was the hog. 

The woman seemed to be far beneath the average 
women of her class in intellect; for, although Colonel 
Chester spoke and understood her language, he seemed to 
have much difficulty in making her understand his re- 
quirements. It seemed that, living all her life almost 
within the shadow of San Juan, she had never heard of 
it before. 

“ See here. Uncle Andrew,” cried Dyke, sniflBng the 
air, appreciatingly. “ I do believe that I got a whiff of 
Jake’s hohhycue. I’m sure of it; for here’s another. 
Just let me follow my nose, and I’ll take you to the pro- 
visions, which are more important at this time than all 
the San Juans in Texas.” 

“ There, I told you so,” he continued, as a woolly head 
appeared in the road ahead of them. 

“ Marse Chestah, bress de Lord ! ” ejaculated Jake, his 
large face radiating with a smile of supreme satisfaction. 


76 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“We los’ de way, a-crossin’ dat short-cut, an’ we reck- 
oned as how we mout es well take a bite to ’stain de 
inner man an’ woman an’ chile of us, ’fore settin’ out in 
de vain quest of yees. I jis’ take a peep ’casionally to see 
if yo’s cornin’, ’case I reckon es how de vittals would 
bring yo’. 

Aunt Dinah had a tempting feast spread out before 
the hungry pleasure-seekers. It was an important occa- 
sion for the old colored woman, and she felt her responsi- 
bility accordingly. 

“ Jes’ construct yo’ sel’s to de bankittle feast,” she said, 
with a majestic sweep of her hands toward the tempting 
viands spread out on a table-cloth upon the ground. A 
mammoth roast turkey occupied the central place, and 
was quite sufficient, in Jake’s estimation, to bestow upon 
the feast the high sounding appellation of barbecue, or, 
as he called it, “ bobbycue.” 

“Yo’ take de seat of ’onor, Marse Chestah,” Dinah 
continued, with grave dignity. “ De head ob de table, ef 
yo’ knows whar dat am ; an’ yo,’ young misses, range yo’ 
sel’s ’long side ob him. Yo’ Gyp ” — Aunt Dinah made 
a dexterous movement and caught Gipsy by her woolly 
hair, as she was in the act of slipping a huge doughnut 
into her pocket. Seeing that she had been detected, and 
fearing to lose her treasure, she secured it by cramming 
it all into her capacious mouth. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


77 


After dinner, Colonel Chester stretched himself in the 
grateful shade of a large, live oak tree. Mrs. Randall 
took a book, and the young people rambled away in 
search of — they scarcely knew what — and certainly they 
had no thought of finding anything remarkable. 

They had gone but a short distance when Dyke, 
who was a little in advance of the girls, called them to 
come and see what he had discovered. 

They hurried on, and soon at their feet a rippling 
stream wound along over pebbles, and through green 
banks. High above this stream was an archway of solid 
masonary, ten or twelve feet above the place where they 
were standing. 

“ Who could have built it, and when ? ” — questioned 
Hina; for this was in one of the neglected places in- 
habited only by roving Mexicans ; and the archway was 
beautiful and picturesque enough to have adorned some 
rich man’s grounds. 

“ Come up, girls, come up,” called Dyke, from an ex- 
alted place far above their heads, which he had reached 
by the assistance of small trees and rocks. 

The two girls then began the difficult ascent; but when 
they had reached the top their exertions were amply re- 
warded. They discovered that an irrigation ditch, formed 
of solid masonry, like the arch, was built there. The 
bottom and sides of it were rock. It was full of water. 


78 


THE CHESTEK GIRLS. 


which flowed sluggishly along on the top of the high 
archway. The ditch extended as far as they could see 
on either side, and gave the place a romantic interest in 
their young eyes ; for it was a part of that buried past, 
which the present generation is constantly discovering. 

“We will ask grandpapa about it,” said Florence. 

At that moment they discovered a bright-eyed Mexican 
woman sitting on the edge of the ditch, with a pile of 
soiled clothes beside her, washing them in the ditch. A 
group of curious, bright-eyed children clustered about 
her, among whom Nina distributed a handful of lemon 
drops, which caused them much wonderment and specu- 
lation, and when found to be sweet were eaten greedily, 
with some quarreling over the possession of them. 

A Mexican gipsy camp was just across the stream, and 
our young people found ample amusement in watching 
their strange manner. of preparing food, until Jake sought 
them out and informed them “ dat de kernal gib’ orders 
tu ma’ch on.” 

“ These aqueducts, or irrigation ditches, were made by 
the Indians under the direction of the Spanish priests,” 
said Colonel Chester, when appealed to for an explana- 
tion of what they had witnessed. “The one you have 
just seen was probably constructed by the Indians of the 
San Juan Mission, as this is in the vicinity of that 
Mission.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 79 

“ There seems to be no other use for them than as im- 
mense wash' tubs for the Mexicans,” said Nina. 

‘‘And yet they were built for a purpose,” continued 
Colonel Chester. “ The Spaniards occupied Texas from 
1690 to the Mexican Revolution in 1820. During this 
time these missions were built, and conducted by monks 
of the order of Saint Francis. They made an attempt to 
civilize and Christianize the Indians; and their failure to 
do so, is another proof of the fallacy of the Christian 
religion. “ He paused, and looked at Nina, as if ex- 
pecting some reply from her. She colored slightly. It 
was quite evident that they all expected her to reply. 

“ Grandpapa,” she said, while the flush came and went 
on her cheeks, “ almost two thousand years ago, a poor, 
unknown man preached a new religion, something so dif- 
ferent from any then known, that every one scoffed at it ; 
and he told them that the time would come when that 
religion should be preached to every nation, and in every 
country on the earth. Even the unbelieving ones said ; 
‘We shall see. If this religion is of man, it will come to 
nought ; if it is of God, it will stand, and nothing shall 
harm it.’ It has. This was two thousand years ago, 
almost, and only during the last few years has the proph- 
ecy of that carpenter’s son been fulfilled. There is not 
now a known nation on earth but has the Christian 
religion preached in some part of it.” 


80 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Colonel Chester had not expected that Nina would be 
ready with an answer. Her argument was one which he 
could not dispute, and he did not attempt it at that time. 

“Is that really true?” asked Florence, while Mrs. 
Randall’s expressive features showed that she was in- 
terested. 

“ Haven’t you read it in the Bible ? ” asked Nina, in 
surprise. 

“ I have never read one word in the Bible in my life,” 
confessed Florence. 

“ Then you ought,” cried Nina, with an indignant ring 
in her young voice. “ How can you — how can any one, 
judge a thing they know nothing about?” 

Nina did not know that her reproachful words brought 
a grave accusation to every one of her listeners. 

“But you were telling us how the ditch came to be 
built. Uncle Andrew,” interrupted Dyke, and Colonel 
Chester continued : 

“ In order to make their Missions self-supporting, the 
priests converted this whole country into an immense 
farm. What is now prairie land, or overgrown with 
mesquite and cacti, was all under cultivation. The 
climate of Texas is too uncertain, with too frequent 
droughts, to admit of successful farming without irriga- 
tion, and these ditches were built in such a manner that 
their farms could be watered at pleasure.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


81 


“ But it must have taken hundreds of years to build 
those ditches, which you say, are all over this part of 
Texas,” said Dyke. 

“ It took a great many years,” replied Colonel Chester ; 
“ and now, if we wish to visit San J uan, and gather our 
pecans, we must be going.” 

Colonel Chester soon discovered a road which was not 
fenced in, and by following it, came to a mill, which 
he recognized at once, and then knew that they had 
passed the Mission San Juan, by a circuitous route. 

“We shall hardly have time to visit Espada to-day,” 
he said. “ Espada is the fourth Mission ; and from there 
to the gulf, the Missions are six miles apart. We shall 
not miss much by ending our Mission visits at this place, 
for Espada is in an advanced state of ruin, and but little 
of its former beauty now remains.” 

San Juan is not so fine a building, by any means, as 
San Jose, but it is situated in a delightfully picturesque 
place, on the east side of the San Antonio River, and a 
little settlement has grown up about the old ruins. 

“ These ruins are like monumental stones to mark the 
folly and the egotism of man,” remarked Colonel Chester, 
viewing the fast crumbling walls. 

“ To me, they are something more than that,” said his 
sister, with a sigh. “ They are the tombs of hope and 

prosperity; the burial places of many confident antici- 
F 


82 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


pations, so like our own wretched, unfruitful lives. Only 
that above the failure and misery of our lives there is no 
fitting monument, like this.” 

“They are gloomy old things,” said Florence, with a 
shudder. “ Let us go away. I do not enjoy visiting the 
Mission.” 

The pecan gathering was more to Dyke’s liking, and 
they were soon engaged in the pastime, to his heart’s 
desire. 

Mrs. Kandall and the two girls seated themselves 
under a large pecan tree to rest, while Colonel Chester, 
Dyke, Jake, Gipsy, and Aunt Dinah, proceeded to fill 
the bags with the fine, large nuts, which the frost had 
cast upon the ground. 

Nina Chester was happy as the clear-throated bird in 
the branches over her head. Sorrow found but mo- 
mentary habitation in her heart. She did not know how 
her happy, ardent nature was hourly exerting a soothing, 
healthful influence over a broken, storm-tossed heart. 

Mrs. Randall did not, as yet, recognize that influence. 
She only knew that Nina’s laughter had a healing balm 
in its joyous ripple, which rested and comforted her 
troubled heart. She did not believe in the things which 
Nina held sacred ; and at first it irritated her, had almost 
angered her, when the girl spoke so confidently of God’s 
love. Then she seemed indifferent; finally, she found 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


83 


herself listening for Nina^s expressions of faith ; and of 
late, she often asked questions, to draw forth such expres- 
sions, almost anticipating her answers. 

God had given the frail girl a great battle to fight for 
him ; but he was ever at her side, and while she remained 
within the shadow of his powerful hand, she would not 
fail. 

Had Nina known that this burden was laid upon her 
it would have alarmed her. She only knew that she 
loved God, and that the rest of her home friends did not. 

She was so cheerful, so unselfish, and withal so lovable, 
that she drew all hearts to her. Her simple, childish 
faith in God was so perfect, so unquestionably secure, 
that it necessarily influenced those about her. 

Nina talked of the things which lay nearest her heart 
in such a natural, unassuming way, that one could not 
doubt it was the overplus of her heart’s abundance. 

It was a tired pleasure party which drove homeward 
in the early evening. 

Colonel Chester drew rein at the side entrance of a 
fine, large dwelling, on the ‘‘outskirts” of the city. 

“We are all tired and thirsty,” he said, as he handed a 
foaming glass of beer to his sister, from the hands of a 
boy, who had come out to wait upon them. “ This,” he 
added, not noticing her hesitation, “ is the brewery. A 
fine building, and doing a fine business.” 


84 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Excuse me, Andrew,” she said, with trembling lips. 
“ Strong drink has blighted my whole life. I cannot 
drink it.” 

“ Strong drink ! ” repeated Colonel Chester, in amaze- 
ment. “ Why, Mary, beer is one of our greatest temper- 
ance advocates. There is much less drunkenness in San 
Antonio since the brewery started here. Beer is an ex- 
cellent tonic, and you need it, after your long ride.” 

I cannot take it,” she said, firmly. “ My husband 
began his downward career by drinking this temperance 
drink of yours.” 

“Very well. I will not urge you against your prin- 
ciples. Nina, my dear, take this glass.” 

He turned to Nina, as he spoke ; but her white face, 
and wide, startled eyes, arrested his hand. 

She had been in her grandfather’s home for several 
months; her tender, sensitive heart had been wounded 
many times by his lack of reverence and unbelief ; but 
she did not know that he regarded the use of alcoholic 
beverages as a necessity. 

“ What is it, Nina — are you ill ? ” he asked, in alarm. 

“ Grandpapa,” she faltered, while a sob came into her 
throat, and nearly choked her, “ please, don’t ask me to 
drink it. I — I couldn’t.” 

“ I surely will not compel you to drink it, Nina,” he 
replied, quietly. “ I cannot think why you act so 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


85 


strangely. You could not look more frightened if I 
had asked you to take poison.’* 

Nina’s lips quivered pitifully, and her eyes swam in 
tears, in spite of her efforts to control her emotions. 

“ Give it to me, grandpapa, dear,” said Florence, 
sweetly. “I shall not refuse your kind offer, I assure 
you.” , 

She took the foaming glass in her white hand, and 
smiled her delight over its amber contents. 

And Nina, poor child, her happy day was hopelessly 
spoiled. Her life had been so different, in every sense, 
from the one she was now living. The things which she 
held sacred, were here laughed to scorn ; those which she 
considered as dangerous, and abhorred with all her heart, 
were regarded as harmless luxuries by the one who was 
her guardian and adviser. Indeed, Nina’s lot had not 
been cast in pleasant places, and her sensitive heart was 
doomed to many a stab in the days which were to come. 


CHAPTER VI. 


NINA LOSES HER BIBLE. 

“ T THINK it will be a favorable time for one of our 
‘ readings/ Nina,” said Colonel Chester, one rainy 
day, as he rose from the dinner table. “ It is such a dis- 
agreeable day that none of us will care to go out, and I 
have selected several passages to read for your instruction 
and benefit. I have also a fine lecture, which reads like 
a beautiful poem. I am sure you will enjoy it. The 
writer has clear conceptions of religion as it is to-day, 
and clothes his thoughts in most exquisite language.” 

“Very well, grandpapa,” said Nina, with just the 
faintest suspicion of a quiver in her sweet voice. “ I will 
join you all in the library presently.” 

She rose to leave the room, but Colonel Chester de- 
tained her. 

“ Let Gipsy bring your book of fairy tales,” he said, 
noticing her evident confusion. 

She lifted her clear eyes to his face. 

“ I cannot come to the library and listen to the passages 
you are going to read until I have been to my room for a 
little while.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


87 


The words were low and falteringly spoken, and her 
eyes drooped shyly beneath his gaze. Her hands trem- 
bled, and he could see that the tears were filling her eyes. 

He bowed gravely, thus granting her permissson, and 
when she had left the room Mrs. Randall remarked : 

“ Why torture the poor child, Andrew ? Any one can 
see that she is as devout and sincere as can be.” 

“ It is her persistent devotion and sincerity which I 
must weaken, or it will influence her whole life,” he 
answered, gravely, leading the way to the library. “I 
had hoped that time and association with us would over- 
throw the wrong influence of her early education; but I 
really believe the child grows stronger in her faith as we 
oppose her. This stubbornness in Nina grieves me. In 
other things she yields to my better judgment.” 

“ I’ll bet he has a tough time to convert Nina to his 
way of thinking,” remarked Dyke. 

“ I am curious to hear what she will have to say on the 
subject,” replied Florence, “ and I do hope ” — with a 
shrug of her shapely shoulders — “that the stories she 
will read out of her book will be more interesting than 
the dry arguments grandpapa will discourse upon for our 
edification.” 

“ Well, I, for one, would like to see Nina come out 
ahead,” said Dyke, emphatically. “ She’s the best girl I 
ever knew — Nina is.” 


88 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Thank you, Dyke,” interrupted Florence, laughing, 
as his face reddened with embarrassment. 

“ Oh, present company is always excepted, you know,” 
he said aloud, and mentally added : “ It isn’t though, in 
this case.” 

It was some minutes before Nina made her appear- 
ance. 

Colonel Chester turned nervously the leaves of several 
great books he had taken from the shelves, and watched 
the door a trifle anxiously. 

Nina was not the simple, unthinking child he had 
thought her, and he realized that his task might be more 
difficult than he had at first anticipated. Aside from 
this, though he did not recognize the fact, or allow the 
feeling to take deflnite shape in his mind, was a sense of 
uneasiness at Nina’s delay. Why had it been necessary 
for her to seek her room before coming to the contest ? 
Was she prostrating herself before her God? Had her 
superstitious belief taken as strong a hold as this upon 
her susceptible nature ? The thought angered him, and 
he was determined to root it out, if possible. 

He remembered how she trembled and grew pale when- 
ever he spoke of the convincing arguments in his books. 
It was quite evident that she feared them. Through 
her fear, then, he would convince her. He did not know 
that what he supposed to be fear was intense pain and 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


89 


sorrow, that God’s creatures should employ their best in- 
tellect in scheming against their Maker. 

While he was yet thinking and turning the leaves of 
the book he held, Nina entered the room so quietly that 
he was not aware of her presence until she had seated 
herself beside him. Looking in her face he was surprised 
to see how serene it was. There was no suggestion of 
timidity or fright upon it. Her eyes met his unflinch- 
ingly, with a grave, sweet light in their clear depths. 

Nina had taken her weakness and timidity to her 
Heavenly Father, and he had wrapped her in his mighty 
mantle of strength. 

“ I am ready, grandpapa,” she said, laying in her lap 
the little, worn Bible Elder Williams had given her 
more than a year before. 

“ I want you to give me your best attention, Nina,” 
he said, opening one of the books before him. “I 
want you to promise that you will do this.” 

“To be sure I will, grandpapa. I came here for 
that purpose,” she said, innocently. 

“ Grandpapa is afraid that you will keep saying over 
some sentence or prayer, all the while he is reading, to 
keep from hearing him,” said Florence. 

“Grandpapa knows better than that,” replied Nina, 
decidedly. “ I will give him as close attention as I 
shall want him to give to my reading.” 


90 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


It is not our purpose to follow the readings on either 
side — only to give the impressions created by them. 

Colonel Chester read a lengthy and rather tiresome 
article. 

“ What do you think of that, Nina ? ” he asked, in 
conclusion. 

“ Shall I tell you just what I think, grandpapa?” 

“ Certainly.” 

“I think the author has made a desperate effort to 
reason out something which his own better judgment 
tells him is beyond all human reasoning. He has 
piled up words, and fine sentences, and arguments, 
and conclusions, and what does it all amount to? Do 
we know any more about our past or our future ex- 
istence than we did before? Has he made anything 
clear, with all his words?” 

“Nina,” said Colonel Chester, seriously, “have you 
a definite knowledge of the future existence? Do you 
know, beyond a doubt?” 

“I do,” she replied, so firmly, so confidently, that 
no one in the room doubted her belief in her knowl- 
edge. 

“ You think you know,” he replied, impatiently. 

“ Grandpapa, do you think you believe in the theories 
of that book, or do you know to a certainty that they are 
correct?” Nina asked. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


91 


“We are not positively sure of anything,” he replied, 
evasively. “ I have some other extracts to read to you.” 

Colonel Chester was piqued at Nina’s calmness at a 
time when he had expected she would appear nervous, 
or, at the least, excited ; but she had left all her neiwous- 
ness and excitement in her room, before coming down. 

The ridicule cast on “ sacred things ” by the author, 
hurt Nina cruelly, but did not affect her otherwise. 

“ I should not like to remember all those sarcastic 
things, written against my Lord, on my death-bed,” 
said Nina, so solemnly that at least two of those 
present — Mrs. Randall and Florence — were impressed 
by the thought. 

Colonel Chester then read extracts from other authors, 
and some scientific articles, by which he intended to 
prove that the teachings of the Bible were at fault 
in many things concerning the formation of the earth, 
and the length of time it had been in existence. 

“And now,” said Nina, opening her little, worn book, 
“it is my turn to read to you. My book has so much 
in it that I can only read part of it. Grandpapa, you 
acknowledge that the Old Testament was written long 
before Jesus Christ lived on earth, do you not?” 

“Yes, that is a historical fact. The Old Testament 
is only valuable as a record of times and places, whicli 
were before other records were kept. There are many 


92 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


truths in the Bible — just enough, in fact, to inspire the 
credulous mind with a belief in all of it.” 

“ I will first read you the fifty-third chapter of 
Isaiah,” said Nina. “It is a prophecy of the coming 
of a Saviour to redeem the world, which was lost. 
This was written hundreds of years before Christ 
actually came to earth, and, as grandpapa says, it is 
a historical fact that such a man did actually live 
near Jerusalem. 

“A very good man,” interrupted Colonel Chester, 
“but not a divine being.” 

Nina then read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah in 
a passionately tender voice, which thrilled with an 
intensity of emotion that stirred the hearts of those 
about her. 

“Grandpapa,” she said, closing her book with her 
finger in the place, and lifting her earnest eyes to 
his, “do you know why it hurts me to think that 
any one could write such things as you have read to- 
day ? Let me tell you : My Saviour was Lord of 
glory, King of all the universe, and he came down 
from his beautiful home in Paradise and became poor, - 
and wretched, and despised; he even gave his life — 
that was more valuable than all the lives which have 
been since the beginning — to redeem men from the just 
penalty of their sins. ‘ He was wounded for our trans- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


93 


gressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes 
w^e are healed.’” 

She drew a quick breath, brushed a tear from her 
cheek, and opened her book at a new place. 

“ The life of our Saviour is a beautiful story from 
, first to last,” Nina said. “ But I am going to read 
little extracts, here and there, to show you how com- 
pletely that prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled.” 

She then read, in her clear, sweet voice, of the babe 
who was born in Bethlehem, and his miraculous pres- 
ervation from death, when the king sought his life. 
After this, she turned to the chapter of his betrayal 
and death. 

Her cheeks flushed, her eyes glowed, and her voice 
showed the intensity of her feelings on the subject. 

Nina had never read that shameful act — when the 
Jews crucified their Lord — without feeling very deeply ; 
now, however, she was reading it under peculiar circum- 
stances. Not one of those present sympathized with her, 
or felt the reality of the scene she was presenting to 
them. 

She read of the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, 
when the hour of death was fast approaching ; she read 
of the trial, and how the people clamored for his life ; 
she read of the last scene on Calvary, and how the 


94 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


heavens were darkened, and the graves gave up their 
dead, when the work of redemption was accomplished. 

A hush had fallen upon her audience, only broken, 
when she ceased reading, by a sob from Florence, and 
a long-drawn sigh from Mrs. Randall. 

“ Seems as if I could see the whole thing, it is so real,” 
exclaimed Dyke. “ It’s an awfully interesting story, any- 
how, and I’d like to hear all of it — how he lived, and all 
about him.” 

Colonel Chester frowned darkly. 

“Nina,” he said, with great displeasure in his tones, 
“ give that book to me. It has bewitched you. It is 
a weird, excitable story, unfit for young ears to hear. 
I did wrong in allowing you to read it. I would not 
have had Florence listen to the things you have read 
to-day for anything, if I had known how she would 
have been affected; or, in fact, what you were intend- 
ing to read.” 

“ Did you not know, grandpapa ? ” Nina asked, 
quickly. “ Of course you know the Bible story ; and 
surely you must have known just what I would read.” 

“Give me the book, Nina. It is a dangerous one, 
and must be destroyed,” he replied, without answering 
her question. 

The fact is, he did not know the Bible story. Living 
in a land of Bibles, he was totally ignorant of the story 




Chester Girls 


Page 95 



THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


95 


of our Saviour’s life aud death, as recorded in the Bible. 
For once the strong man could not meet the girl’s pure, 
searching gaze, and he mentally confessed his ignorance, 
and her superior knowledge. 

“Oh, grandpapa, you do not mean that you will 
destroy my Bible — the one that my dear Elder Wil- 
liams gave me?” she cried, in distress, unconsciously 
hugging it to her breast. 

“ Give it to me at once, Nina,” he demanded, sternly. 
“I regret, with my whole heart, that you ever saw it. 
I fear that I can never undo the harm it has done 
you.” 

“ And all the dear passages he marked in it for me. 
“ Oh ! I can never find another like it — never,” sobbed 
Nina, kissing her book before yielding it to his out- 
stretched hand. 

“I sincerely hope not,” he replied, as he thrust the 
book into his pocket, and hurriedly left the room. 

The sun had dispelled the rain-clouds, and a few 
moments later Colonel Chester drove out of the yard, 
bearing with him Nina’s precious book, which he had 
decided must at once be destroyed. 

“ It is a shame,” exclaimed Dyke, turning from the 
window, where he had watched Colonel Chester ride 
away. “It is a shame to take away your book just 
when we were becoming interested in the story.” 


96 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Nina had thrown herself on a sofa, and, with her 
face in her hands, was weeping bitterly. 

Mrs. Randall tried to comfort her. 

“ Do not weep so, Nina,’’ she said, in a gentle voice, 
with a touch of the old tenderness in it, which Dyke 
had not heard since little Blossom’s death. “ If he 
destroys your book, it will not matter. The world 
is full of them.” 

“But not like mine,” sobbed Nina. “I loved it be- 
cause dear Elder Williams gave it to me. Oh! if 
I might only go to him now, he would tell me what 
to do, and I would not feel so discouraged.” 

“ I thought your God could accomplish wonders,” said 
Florence, in a subdued voice. “ That was a wonderful 
story you read us. I should like to hear more of it.” 

“ God can do whatever he will,” replied Nina. But 
her voice had lost something of its assurance. 

This girl, who loved God, was like older Christians, 
and was greatly disappointed at her failure to do his 
w'ork in her own way. The readings had ended so 
differently from what she had expected, or desired, that 
she felt discouraged at what she considered her fruitless 
attempt to convince “Grandpapa Chester” of his errors. 

“After all,” said Mrs. Randall, warily, “if such a God 
as you have read about really exists, he can convert the 
world to himself when he will.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


97 


“ And a girl like you could not assist him in his great 
■work at all,” added Florence. “ I think you had better 
stop trying, and enjoy life as best you can. Of what use 
are your efforts against grandpapa’s better judgment and 
stronger will ? ” 

“ It seems that they have been of no use at all,” con- 
fessed Nina, sadly, while her heart ached over her fail- 
ure. “I have only made him angry with me, and he 
will be more determined than ever that I shall believe 
as he does.” 

“ I fear that you have injured your cause with him,” 
said Mrs. Randall. And the words, confirming Nina’s 
own fears, fell like heavy blows upon her heart. “ I 
would much rather believe in no God at all, than in 
an unjust and cruel one,” she added. 

“ Oh ! don’t say so. Aunt Mary,” pleaded Nina, tear- 
fully. “ He has been most kind to me ; and I know he 
hears my prayers, because of the way in which he an- 
swers them.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t call it kind in him to take you 
from among those who believe as you do, and sym- 
pathized with you, and were tender of all your feel- 
ings, and give you to one who could treat you as 
Uncle Andrew did to-day, when he took from you the 
book you love so dearly ” — cried Dyke, hotly, his boyish 

face flushing with indignation as he spoke. 

G 


98 


THE CHESTEE GIKLS. 


“He may have had a wise purpose in it all,” said 
Nina, remembering how Elder Williams would have 
explained her unhappiness. 

“A purpose to see how much you can suffer, and not 
give up,” exclaimed Dyke. “Very kind of him, I should 
say.” 

“ Sometimes our griefs are permitted, that good may 
come out of them.” Nina was again quoting Elder Wil- 
liam’s words, while a very, very small doubt of God’s 
kindness in allowing Grandpapa Chester to become 
angry with her when she was trying to do his work, 
was entering her heart. 

“ We are not won to him by the afflictions which he 
heaps upon us,” said Mrs. Randall, in a hard, defiant 
voice. “When God restores my lost happiness to me, 
then I will love him ; when he converts lost and de- 
graded manhood into something noble and worthy, then 
will I believe in him ; when I see signs of his power and 
glory upon earth, then will I trust in him ; when the 
hand which has smitten me so often, and so cruelly, 
drops blessings into my life, then, and not until then, 
will I have faith to expect mercies when my skies are 
darkened in sorrow.” 

And Nina, poor, sorrowful child, what could she say? 
The small doubt which had entered her heart had ob- 
scured her spiritual vision, as doubts always do ; and the 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


99 


words which, at other times, would have come to her in 
answer, as happy inspirations, did not come now. For 
the first time in the young girl’s life, expressions like Mrs. 
Randall’s, sounded plausible. But with the clouding of 
Nina’s faith came also a shadow over her happy, joyous 
spirits. Her love and faith in God had been her heart’s 
sunshine, and she drooped without its genial rays. 

So the days wore on ; the whole household seemed to 
have experienced a change. 

Nina, who had been the life and joy of the home 
went about with a shadow on her face, and an unsatisfied 
longing in her eyes. 

Florence was more irritable and unhappy than before. 
Some of the words Nina had read kept coming to her 
mind, and would not be put aside. She tried to forget 
them ; but even in her sleep they were whispered to her ; 
and in her waking hours she found herself repeating: 
“ He was wounded for our transgressions’* 

“Whose? Mine?” she questioned of her anxious 
heart. “ How could that be, when he never knew me ? 
But Nina says that he died for all ; then I must be one 
of them. That without his death we should all be lost ; 
and I — oh, I am lost anyhow — unless I accept. Oh, if 
only my mother were alive to-day, that I might ask her. 
I am so unhappy — so unhappy! Why did Nina ever 
come into our home ? I was at least content before she 


100 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


came, and now, it seems that I can never be at peace 
again.” 

“It is a strange, a very strange story,” mused Mrs. 
Kandall, the thought recurring to her many times a day. 
“And the strangest part of it all is, that the wisest and best 
men of our time fully believe in it. It is not a fairy tale, 
as brother Andrew calls it — at least, not like other fairy 
tales; for men of education and superior intellect have 
studied the Bible rationally and seriously, only to become 
convinced, at last, of its truth. I wonder that I never 
thought of these things before in a personal light. I do 
not remember that I ever read a chapter in the Bible, in 
my whole life. I do not suppose there is one in the 
house ; but I think I will get one, the next time I go to 
a book-store. It will do no harm to read it, and see what 
the wonderful book says — what the story is which has 
had such convincing power over all the nations of the 
earth.” 

“ Whence comes Nina’s knowledge of these things ? ” 
questioned Colonel Chester, seriously, as he rode forth 
beneath the blue skies, from which the storm-clouds had 
rolled away. A thousand rain-drops glittered on the 
green live-oaks, and strung their pearls on the bare 
branches of trees and shrubs that had yielded their ver- 
dure at winter’s demand. 

“ It is a remarkable work, and no mistake,” his 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


101 


thoughts continued, when his anger had somewhat sub- 
sided. “A remarkable book, and exerts a remarkable 
influence over men’s minds. It is a dangerous book in 
the hands of an imaginative girl, like Nina ; but can do 
me no harm. In order to convince her of her error, as I 
would like, I must know more of her book. I discov- 
ered my mistake to-day. How can I answer the ques- 
tions she puts to me, unless I understand her reasons for 
so asking them ? She has a trick of ‘ cornering ’ me, in 
a way I do not relish. Yes, I see plainly, that I must 
understand the uses of her weapons, as well as of my 
own. It is well enough to read the book for my own 
satisfaction ; so I will not destroy it at present. At least, 
not until I have read it.” 

Oh, wisdom beyond the ken of man ! That little worn 
Bible, with many a precious passage marked by the hand 
of a devout Christian, was destined to preach a powerful 
sermon to Colonel Chester. The passage made emphatic 
by a good man’s pencil would influence him. 

Nina had lost her Bible ; but could she have known 
why God had permitted her loss, she would have rejoiced 
exceedingly, instead of allowing shadowy little doubts to 
creep into her heart. 

How little we know of the results of our words or 
actions ! Sometimes, in after years, we are surprised to 
learn that on such a day, at such a time, some word of 


102 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


ours guided a soul to God ; and, all these years, we have 
gone on our way grieving that it has never been per- 
mitted to us to do one good deed, or to say one acceptable 
word for the Master. 

Thus it was with Nina. While she was grieving and 
doubting, the good seed was taking root. She had done 
her part. There was no more for her to do. The rest 
must come from God. He was abundantly able to do it 
all, had it so pleased him ; but he saw that it was best 
that the interest should be awakened by Nina, and then 
that the work should drop out of her hands. 

** Perhaps God does not permit us to do our work for 
him in our own way, lest we grow self-confident and 
egotistical. God’s cause prospers ; and here and there he 
takes helpers when needed, and dismisses them when no 
longer required. 

One week from the day on which Nina had made, 
what she considered a great failure in her work for the 
Master, Mrs. Randall returned from a shopping tour, 
and, among other purchases, carried into her room a 
small, plain Bible, which she concealed in her bureau- 
drawer, as if ashamed of its possession. 

The following Saturday Florence made an errand to 
the book-store, while Grandpapa Chester, Mrs. Randall, 
and Nina were out riding — she having declined the in- 
vitation, in order to get an opportunity to make her pur- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


103 


chase unobserved. A small part of her generous monthly 
allowance was given in exchange for a pretty plush- 
covered Testament. Florence liked pretty things; and 
she could not find it in her heart to get a plain, dull- 
covered book, when the choice of soft, bright bindings 
was before her. 

‘‘ I mean to know more about Him,” she said, with a 
thrill of delight over her purchase. “Grandpapa has 
never told me not to read the story, and I want to know 
all that Christ did when he lived on earth.” 

Later, on the same day. Dyke found Aunt Dinah spell- 
ing out something in a much worn and much soiled book. 
She had some difficulty to read, but by a most laborious 
process succeeded in fixing a few verses each day on her 
mind. 

“ What book is that. Aunt Dinah ? ” he asked. 

“ Bress yo’, honey, it’s de blessed Bible, what tells ob 
de streets ob gold an’ de white raiment an’ de great white 
throne an’ the rivers a flowin’ with milk an’ honey. 
Whar de black niggers are washed white in de blood ob 
de Lam’.” 

“Let me see it. Aunt Dinah?” Dyke reached his 
hand for it. 

“Yo’ suah yo’ gib it back?” she questioned, suspi- 
ciously._‘‘Marse Chestah he ’lows it am only good for 
black people.” 


104 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I won’t harm it, Aunt Dinah,” said the boy, “ and if 
you like I’ll read to you in it.” 

“ Yo’ will, honey, fo’ su’ ? ” — her dark face radiated with 
delight. “Wal, now yo’ is good. Yo’ see, it’s berry 
ha’d work fo’ my pore ole eyes.” 

“If you will let me begin at the first of the story, 
where the baby was born. I’ll come every day and read 
it to you. I’d like to read it for myself,” said Dyke, 
earnestly. 

He too wished to purchase a Bible. His curiosity was 
aroused, and he wanted to know the remainder of the 
story, of which Nina had read a part. He had given 
the subject serious consideration, but his wants so far 
exceeded his means that he gave up the idea of the 
purchase when this opportunity for reading the story 
presented itself to him. Directly after the holidays, he 
was to go to a school, which Colonel Chester had 
selected for him in a distant city; and he desired to 
learn all he could about the wonderful story before he 
went. So each day found him reading aloud to Aunt 
Dinah, growing more and more interested as he proceeded. 

So while Nina grieved and lamented, and offered her 
prayers for Grandpapa Chester’s conversion, a mighty 
influence was at work of which she little dreamed. 

The best and surest way to convert a soul to God is to 
create in that soul an interest in the Bible. 


CHAPTER VIL 


THE LITTLE SEAMSTRESS. 

^OME, Nina, come and see the pretty new dresses 
^ which grandpapa has sent home for us,” cried 
Florence, thrusting her smiling face in at the door of 
Nina’s room, one morning two weeks before Christmas. 

Nina was not slow to accept her cousin’s invitation ; and 
a moment later the two bright girl faces bent, with rap- 
turous delight, over the fine fabrics spread out on chaire 
and divans in the sitting-room. 

“ See how grandpapa listens to our conversation, that 
he may know what we most desire,” cried Florence, lift- 
ing a rich, dark-blue silk, and holding its shiny folds 
against her fair cheek. “ Don’t you remember, Nina, I 
told you that I wanted a dark-blue silk ? ” 

“And I said — oh, Florrie, here it is, the very shade I 
most admire, a lovely golden brown. Dear grandpapa, 
let me thank you.” 

She caught the pretty silk in her arms, and, with her 
joyous impulsiveness, ran across the room to where Col- 
onel Chester sat by the large east window, apparently 
deeply absorbed in his morning paper, but really more 

105 


106 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


iutent in listening to the conversation carried on in 
another part of the room. 

“ I cannot remember when I first wanted a silk dress, a 
golden-brown silk, grandpapa,” she said, rapturously, 
after crumpling his paper by crowding herself, the new 
silk, and all into his lap, while she expressed her de- 
light. 

“ When I was a wee little girl, and lived among the 
white sand hills on Lake Michigan, I used to dream 
about it, and I sometimes fancied the splash of the waves 
on the shore was the rustle of my brown silk dress. I 
said, ‘ When I 'am sixteen, I will have my pretty silk ; ' and 
now I am about sixteen, and this is my first silk dress. 
Let me kiss you again, grandpapa. You have made me so 
happy.” 

“ Flossie is too busily engaged examining the rest of 
her wardrobe to spare time for kisses,” said Colonel 
Chester, unsteadily. Perhaps the thought of Nina's 
Bible pricked him. At any rate, he turned his face 
away from her lavish kisses, and a mist crept into his 
eyes. 

“ Oh, Flossie has had pretty silk dresses all her life, 
and I — this is my first, my very first ” — repeated Nina, 
passing her hand lovingly over its shining folds. 

“ I want to thank you, grandpapa, I do indeed,” said 
Florence, more quietly than Nina had done, but none 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


107 


the less sincerely. “ The silk is beautiful. You could not 
have pleased me better.” 

She bent her fair head, and her sweet breath swept his 
cheek as she pressed a loving kiss upon his lips. 

The warm old heart sent up a denser mist into his 
eyes, and a queer sensation into his throat. When, in all 
her life, had Florence seemed tenderly grateful for his 
remembrances before ? She was growing each day to be 
more and more like Nina. 

“ Tut, tut, girls,” he said, huskily, putting Nina out of 
his arms and using his large silk handkerchief vigorously. 
“ You quite upset me with your kisses. One would think 
you were famished for silk dresses. There, there, I’ll buy 
you twenty, if you like.” 

Laughing merrily, the girls ran to examine the rest of 
grandpapa’s purchases. 

The silks will be made at Madam Haas’,” explained 
Florence ; “ the rest are to be made at home. I feel a 
little anxiety about them, because Miss Prim, our usual 
seamstress, is sick ; and grandpapa has been obliged to en- 
gage another, an English girl, who has been in the city 
only a few months, and I am fearful that she will not fit 
us nicely. She comes from England ; and their styles are 
probably quite different from ours.” 

At that moment Aunt Dinah ushered a diminutive 
figure into the room. 


108 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ De new sowin’ girl,” she said, and turned away, leav- 
ing “ the new sewing girl ” standing alone in the wide 
door-way. 

The two girls turned at once toward her. 

Was she child, or woman? She was so small and 
slight. Her fair, English face was flushed with the em- 
barrassment of her position. Her eyes were large, and 
blue as English pansies ; her lips full and red ; her yellow 
hair shaded a low, broad brow ; her small hands were 
dimpled like a child’s, and were clasped nervously to- 
gether. 

“ Can you really make our dresses ? ” questioned Flor- 
ence, a trifle anxiously. You seem like such a child.” 

“ I am twenty-two,” said the English girl, with an effort 
at dignity, which made her seem more childish than be- 
fore. “ Oh, please,” she added, entreatingly, while her 
eyes grew misty, “ please let me try. I will do my best 
to please you.” 

Her voice was low and sweet, and a gentle refinement 
sounded in its tones. 

“Of course you shall try,” exclaimed Nina, eager to 
put her at her ease. “ I want you to make my dresses. I 
know you can do it beautifully. Come and look at them. 
There — is not that a pretty flannel ? ” 

“ It is lovely,” replied the girl, forgetting her embar- 
rassment. “ I quite long to get at it.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


109 


How diligently those little hands of Miss Maude’s 
worked over the pretty flannel suits, fashioning them into 
stylish costumes for the girls, who spent much of their 
time in the room with her, watching the progress of her 
work with that enthusiastic interest which young girls 
are wont to feel for anything new in their wearing ap- 
parel. 

During these visits Nina and Florence gleaned much 
of the English girl’s history. She spoke of the beautiful 
home she had once had in England, and the hard times 

which came to them through her sensitive cheeks 

flushed hotly, and she looked up quickly with startled 
eyes. 

“ What was it ? ” asked Nina, sympathetically. “ What 
brought about the change ? ” 

“My father was a kind, good man until he took to 
drink,” Maude said, drooping her eyes in a shamed way 
at the confession. 

“And to think that any one will dare to drink of that 
which has done so much harm in the world,” cried Nina, 
looking straight at Florence. 

“ You need not preach,” retorted Florence, with a flush 
on her cheeks. 

“ I think the time has come when there is great need 
of preaching,” replied Nina, angrily ; “ and I, for one, 
would never put myself on a level with common drunk- 


no 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


ards, by serving the master that ruined them. For 
shame, I say, on every one who does it.” 

“ Our little saint has got a temper as well as the rest 
of us,” said Florence, in slow’, impressive tones, while a 
smile of scorn curved her lips. 

Miss Maude looked distressed at the storm her words 
had provoked. 

In an instant it all came to Nina how her wicked 
anger had done more harm than her defence had done 
good. Her hasty temper had gained the ascendency 
over her will, and she had said things which were better 
left unsaid. The ready tears sprang to her eyes, and she 
hastily left the room. 

“ It all comes of my getting away from God,” she sob- 
bed, in the privacy of her own room. “All the morning I 
have felt like going off into tantrums, and now I have 
done it ; and there is no longer any hopes of converting 
Florence to temperance ideas. Oh, I seem to make a 
failure of everything I undertake. I am utterly dis- 
couraged.” 

The sentence ended in a pitiful sob. Poor Nina ! she 
was getting into deep places, and only the hand of her 
Father could lift her up to her old peace and happiness 
again. 

The attraction in the sewing-room was too great to 
permit of Nina’s absence for any length of time; so it 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Ill 


happened that, after an hour or two of self-reproaches and 
tears in her own room, she once more approached the 
sewing-room. 

In the lower hall she met Florence in her pretty myrtle 
green riding habit, with her riding whip in one hand, 
while with the other she was putting back her loosened 
yellow hair from her flushed face. 

Nina’s eyes were heavy with tears, and her mouth had 
a pitiful droop at its corners. 

“ I’ve had such a delightful ride,” began Florence, her 
face assuming its old scornful expression, “ and I have 
come to the conclusion that I am just about as happy 
without God as you are with him.” 

“ Oh, Florence, forgive my hasty temper this morning,” 
cried Nina, in distress. It seemed to her that her heart 
was breaking with its accumulation of woes. 

“Certainly, since you desire it.” Florence bowed 
coldly ; her tones had a hard, metallic ring, and her face 
was so haughty, with no sign of forgiveness in it, that 
Nina knew her request had not been granted, except in 
W'ords. 

“She will never, never forget my wicked anger,” 
thought Nina, reproachfully. “ Oh, why is it so easy to 
do wrong — so very hard to do right ? ” 

Alas, it is a question which remorseful hearts have been 
asking since the world began. 


112 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


It was Saturday afternoon, a few days after Nina’s sad 
experience with her hasty temper, and the girls were very 
anxious that their new suits should be finished for the 
next day. 

Grandpapa Chester had promised Nina to accompany 
her to church on that day, provided she would allow him 
to choose the church they were to attend ; and Florence, 
with a thought of displaying her stylish new suit, had 
consented to make one of their little party. 

Colonel Chester had been reading in the little worn 
Bible he had taken from Nina. He would not, as yet, 
confess, even to his own heart, that he had become inter- 
ested in the Nazarene, but he was curious — only curious, 
he said — to see what his followers had to say concerning 
him. 

“ Yes,” he consented, graciously, feeling that in some 
way he was conferring a great favor on Nina in so doing. 
“We will attend church with you to-morrow, if it is a 
fine day.” 

“But, grandpapa,” interposed Florence, “not, oh^ 
surely you will not go to the Baptist Church ? It is not 
a high-toned church, at all. The best and w’ealthiest 
people do not go there.” 

“ How do you know, Florence ? Have you ever been 
there to church ? ” asked Nina. 

“ No ; of course not. If I went to church at all, it 


THE CHESTER GIRlJS. 


113 


would not be there. But I have heard the girls at St. 
Mary’s say that those who belong there are — are — well, 
are not among the best ; and, one evening, I went to the 
top of the stairs, with one of the girls, and looked into 
the church. It was a long time ago, when I was quite a 
little girl,” she added, by way of an apology for her 
rudeness, “ and I am sure that no one, at all respectable, 
would care to attend church in such a shabby, barn-like 
place as that. Why, grandpapa,” she continued — with a 
ripple of laughter at Nina’s evident discomforture — “even 
back of the pulpit the wall was dented and spotted.” 

“ It has been re-papered since then, I think,” said Nina, 
in a low, pained voice. 

“ We will attend St. Marks,” decided Colonel Chester. 
And Nina was so thankful to have their company to 
church, that she offered no word of objection. It was 
quite enough for her that they were willing to go to 
church with her ; and any place where her Saviour was 
loved would be dear to her. 

Miss Maude came to her work on that Saturday morn- 
ing with a headache, and the work did not advance as it 
had done on other days. 

“She isn’t going to get our suits finished,” reported 
Florence, on coming from the sewing-room, in the middle 
of the afternoon. “She might have done it easily as not, 

if she had half tried. She hasn’t done as much during 
H 


114 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


the whole morning, as she usually does in one hour. I 
told her that I believed she is loitering over her work on 
purpose to disappoint us.” 

‘‘ Oh, Flossie, you surely did not hurt her feelings in 
that way,” exclaimed Nina, reproachfully. 

She isn’t at all careful of our feelings in wanting to 
disappoint us,” returned Florence, “ and I know she will 
do it. I can see that she does not intend to get our 
suits finished to-day; and all the girls will be out with 
their new dresses. I will not go to church, one step, if 
I cannot have mine.” 

“ Our cashmere dresses look nicely yet,” suggested 
Nina. 

“ You may wear yours, if you like. I shall not,” re- 
plied Florence. 

Nina did not reply, but a few minutes later, she entered 
the sewing-room, only to find Miss Maude standing before 
her work with tearful eyes. 

“Is any thing wrong ?” asked Nina. “Are you ill?” 

“ My head aches,” replied the girl, with a great eflTort 
at self-control, “ but it isn’t that. I am so worried about 
my mother, to-day, that I cannot get along with my work 
at all. She had a bad spell last night, and there is no 
one with her to-day, except my little brother.” 

“ Is she very ill ? ” asked Nina, sympathetically. 

“We have been working very hard, lately,” confessed 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


115 


Maude, “ in order to meet our expenses. We have sat 
at our sewing until after midnight, every night this week. 
You see. Miss Nina, because w'e are strangers, we have to 
do our work so cheap in order to get any to do, that we 
can scarcely earn enough to pay our rent. Mother is 
subject to these bad spells w^hen she overtaxes herself; 
and she looked so very ill when I came away this morn- 
ing. I should not allow it to hinder my work; and 
indeed, I have tried to finish the dresses.” 

“ I believe you have,” replied Nina, cheerfully, “ and I 
am going to get my thimble, and help you. I used to 
make my own dresses, with Mamma Bruce’s assistance, 
before I came to live with Grandpapa Chester ; and I am 
sure I can be of some service to you.” 

“ No, indeed, you must not,” exclaimed Miss Maude. 

“ Yes, indeed I must,” repeated Nina, brightly, “ and 
what is more, we will put my suit on one side, and only 
try to finish Florence’s. My cashmere is plenty good 
enough for to-morrow; and I do not care so much as 
she.” 

It was quite late when Florence’s suit was completed, 
and Nina sought for Dyke, whom she found on the 
gallery. 

In a few emphatic sentences, she succeeded in interest- 
ing him in Maude’s history. 

“ And now. Dyke,” she added, in conclusion, “ it is too 


116 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


late for her to go home alone, and you must go with 
her. Get a peep into her home, if you can. I want to 
know how they live. I have a lovely plan, and I shall 
want you to help me to carry it out.” 

“ I’m just the fellow to do it,” was Dyke’s reply. “I’ll 
investigate, and report at head-quarters. What is your 
plan, Nina? ” 

“I will tell you when I know more about them,” 
answered Nina. And with that. Dyke had to be content. 

The moon was shining brightly, and by its silvery 
light Nina discovered Dyke returning, long before he 
reached the house. 

Throwing a scarf over her head, she ran out to meet 
him. 

“Did you go into the house. Dyke?” she asked. 

“ They have not a house to themselves, but only two 
little rooms in a house in Smith’s Row,” replied Dyke. 
“ But, oh, Nina,” he added, earnestly, “ you ought to have 
seen their supper table. There was a little pile of crack- 
ers, and nothing else except some tea. The room was so 
cold I could not stay to investigate much. The little boy 
has a thin, white face, and a hungry look in his eyes, and 
the mother looks almost starved to death. I am sure 
they do not get enough to eat. Miss Maude, of course, 
gets better food, as she goes out sewing. 

“ We must interest grandpapa in them ; and Dyke, you 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


117 


and I will do what we can to give them a happy Christ- 
mas,” said Nina, while the tears stood in her eyes. 

“ Yes, and Florence will help too, I am sure,” said 
Dyke, eagerly. 

The sympathy of Florence was at once awakened when 
she heard Dyke’s account, and she gladly united with her 
cousins in presenting an appeal to their grandfather. 
The young supplicants were not disappointed. 

Colonel Chester responded liberally, generously ; and a 
kindly smile lit up his face, when three tearful voices as- 
sured him that they w^ould gladly relinquish their own 
Christmas presents, that Miss Maude’s desolate home 
might be brightened and warmed. 

“ Send them a big load of wood. Uncle Andrew,” said 
Dyke, with a shiver at the remembrance of the cheerless 
room. “ Whew ! but it’s cold there. I’ll go around and 
help the little chap to cut and pile it up.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


MBS. BANDAUi S DECISION. 


NLY a week before Christmas, and it was so warm in 



the pleasant dining-room that the windows were 
thrown open, letting in the sweet, balmy breeze, together 
with the sunshine. The fire gave a ruddy glow to the 
room, and looked cheerful, though it w^as not necessary. 

The morning mail had been brought in, and each 
member of the family was engaged over some part of it. 

Colonel Chester read his morning’s paper; Florence 
was reading a letter from a young friend in New Orleans; 
Dyke was admiring the pictures in a new calendar; 
Nina scanning the contents of the last Century, and Mrs. 
Randall gazing with fixed stare and whitening lips upon 
a letter she held in her trembling hands. 

No one noticed her agitation, and no one missed her 
when she rose and silently left the room. 

“ Florence,” said Nina, at length, “ have you ever read 
the novel by Lew Wallace, called Ben-Hur?” 

“ No,” answered Florence. “ Why ? ” 

“ Because I would like to read it,” Nina said. “ I see 
it mentioned here.” 


118 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


119 


It was drawing near to Christmas. Colonel Chester 
was on the alert, listening for just such desires as Nina’s. 
He enjoyed giving presents, but he preferred to choose 
wisely, and at the same time to gratify those to whom he 
made his gifts of love. He accordingly made a careful 
mental note of Nina’s wish, and decided that the book 
she desired to read should be among her presents at 
Christmas time. 

Christmas Day arrived, and, thanks to the Colonel’s 
generosity and the kind thoughtfulness of Nina, Florence 
and Dyke, the widow and her children had a happy, and 
even a merry, Christmas. At Colonel Chester’s this holi- 
day time was always a season of festivity and rejoicing. 
Among the gifts with which the young people were abund- 
antly supplied, was the book which Nina had desired. 
On its white leaf was written, in Colonel Chester’s auto- 
graph : 

“A merry Christmas to my dear granddaughter Nina.” 

“ Grandpapa,” she exclaimed, lifting her eyes, in which 
was a strange mingling of hope and fear, to his face, 
“ did you really get Ben-Hur for me ? ” 

“ 1 really did, my dear. You surely do not think the 
present beyond my means?” He laughed at her evident 
perplexity. 

“No,” she faltered, while little waves of rose flushes 
chased each other across her sensitive face. “No, not 


120 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


that — but — I thought — that is, I mean — . You won’t 
mind if I read it ? ” 

“ Certainly not, my child. I am sure it is a good book, 
for the gentleman of whom I purchased it, a fine man, 
said, when I told him it was for my granddaughter : ‘ It 
is just the kind of a novel I could wish my daughters to 
read.’ Have no fears of my displeasure, dear, but enjoy 
your book all you can.” 

He kissed the anxious look out of her eyes, leaving a 
glad light shining in its place. 

“ The dear little Puritan,” he mused, in a pleased way, 
when she had left him, bearing her precious book with 
her. “ I suppose the child thought I would not approve 
of her reading a novel; but I think that a fine, well- 
written novel is one of the best of educators. I do not 
believe in silly, love nonsense ” — his thoughts continued 
— “ but why should not the events of our lives be written 
down? Why may not our successes and failures be of in- 
terest to others, even though a sprinkling of fiction be 
through it all ? ” 

The presents had all been duly examined, admired, and 
commented upon, and the entire family, with the excep- 
tion of Colonel Chester, were gathered in the parlor when 
Nina opened her new book and began to read. 

“ What is it about ? ” asked Dyke, eagerly. 

“ It begins in the Desert of Arabia ; and there is an 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


121 


Arab, and a dromedary, and the white desert sand — and, 
oh, I am sure it will be unlike any story I have ever 
read,” she answered. 

“ Suppose you read it aloud to us, dear,” suggested 
Mrs. Randall, leaning back wearily in her easy chair. 
Her face was unusually pale, with a tired look in her 
eyes. 

“ Please do,” echoed Florence, “ and if you get tired. 
Dyke and I will rest you. There has always been a 
strange fascination for me in desert stories.” 

Dyke joined in their requests; and, drawing her chair 
closer to the cheery grate-fire, Nina began to read the 
story of “ Ben-Hur : a Tale of the Christ.” 

She read the beautiful description of the three wise 
men — Melchior, and Gaspar, and Balthasar — who came 
riding on tall, white dromedaries, to the meeting w^hich 
God had appointed. How% riding by night, and resting 
by day, they followed the “ star in the East,” which God 
had set there to guide them to the place where the infant 
Saviour lay. 

It was almost like having her Bible once more. Un- 
known to Nina, each one of her audience w'as becoming 
deeply, almost seriously interested, in the Bible story, 
which they read in secret. And this new story, built 
upon the foundation of that other, in all the vivid color- 
ing of imaginative genius, claimed their closest attention. 


122 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


It was beautifully written, and so naturally related, 
that Nina wondered more and more how grandpapa, 
with his deep-seated prejudice against the Saviour, and 
everything pertaining to him, could have consented to 
put into her hand so powerful an auxiliary of the book 
he had taken from her in great displeasure. 

Verily God’s cause is prospered and advanced in ways 
we little dream of. 

Nina enjoyed to the utmost the possession of her new 
book. See had no fears of her grandfather’s displeasure, 
for he had given it to her, and they had received from 
him permission to read and enjoy it. 

The description of Mary, in her beautiful young girl- 
hood, especially pleased the two girls. In imagination, 
they saw her riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, accom- 
panied by the grave-faced, elderly Joseph, with the 
dawning of a new wonder in her clear, blue eyes, which 
she often raised to the warm, tropical sky, gazing long 
and intently into space, as if “ listening for voices in the 
air ” — voices unheard by all save her. 

Later on, they read of the infant King, who was born 
in the manger, and the peaceful influence which his birth 
exerted over the heavens and the earth, the people in 
and about Jerusalem ; and how the great King Herod, 
fearing the little child, caused every home in the place to 
be invaded, and every household’s dimpled darling to be 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 123 

slain, in order that he might slay the one whose power 
he feared. 

But God, watching over his own, shielded him from 
his enemy’s hate, because the sacrifice for which he was 
born was not then to be accomplished. 

The story then introduced other characters, and left 
the holy child where the Bible story has left him — in 
his mother’s arms ; left him to grow to manhood in 
the quiet home, with the birds and the flowers, and all 
the grand, sweet voices of nature for his instructors, 
learning of them lessons of wisdom far beyond the ken 
of man. 

The “ voices in the air,” to which his mother Mary 
had listened, became his teachers; and the excitement 
caused by his birth subsided at length, until the world, 
in its busy rush and turmoil, had nearly forgotten it. 

In the early twilight, the book was laid aside ; and 
they all sat around the glowing embers, thinking in- 
tently about the Bible story. 

They thought in silence. Nina dwelling on the Sav- 
iour’s worthiness; the rest, guarding from her their 
secret, of a more perfect knowledge of the Bible story 
than she suspected. 

Presently, one by one, they quitted the room, leaving 
Mrs. Randall alone. 

“It is a beautiful story,” she mused, watching the 


124 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


bright embers with troubled eyes. It teaches a grand 
lesson of humility and forgiveness.” 

She drew from her pocket the letter which she had 
received several days before; it was worn with much 
reading, and stained with tears; but they were not tears 
of forgiveness. 

In the fading light, she read it once again ; and some- 
thing in its pitiful appeal touched her heart. It began : 

Dear Mary : — My heart is breaking with its remorseful 
desolation and longing love for you. I killed your baby, 
Mary, and the bitterness of my atonement you can never 
know. I hunger and thirst for one glimpse of your face, one 
touch of your hands. Only grant me this, and I will go away 
with renewed hope. My term of probation shall be as long 
as you desire, if I may only hope that when it is over, I may 
come to you at last, and dwell in the heaven of your love ; 
the love I never half appreciated until, with my own hand, 
I dragged it through mire and misery, and finally realized, by 
the look in your face, that I had sinned past forgiveness. ^ I 
have not tasted of that which has cursed our lives since the 
night that little Blossom died ; and if you will give me one 
word of encouragement, one glance of forgiveness, it will 
strengthen me to battle with my terrible appetite, until the 
battle is complete. Will you do this, Mary? If you still 
have a remnant of the old love left, meet me under the live- 
oak tree by the river, on Christmas night. Only for one 
moment, dear; just to let me know that all your love for me, 
and faith in me, did not die with little Blossom. I will be 
there at six o’clock, and I will not despair of your coming 
until eight. Ood help you to forgive. 

Your Erring Husband. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


325 


“How can I! oh, how can I?” she sobbed. “He 
blighted my fresh, young life with his rum-laden breath ; 
he trampled my heart beneath his drunken feet ; he gave 
me curses for kisses, and blows for loving devotion ; but 
I bore it all until the night my little Blossom died. 
Standing beside her when her sweet breath went out for- 
ever, into the awful silence of death, my love for him, 
my patience with his weakness, my forbearance with his 
cruelties, all my tenderness for him — died then. I have 
hated him since then, as I have hated that Higher Power 
which permitted my misery.” 

“ He says ‘ with God’s help,’ ” she continued, referring 
to the letter, every word of which was stamped upon her 
heart. “ What does he know of God ? ” 

Then, after long and silent thoughts, during which her 
mind was weighing her grievances against him, her face 
growing momentarily harder, and her lips more firmly 
pressed, as those years of sorrow came back to her, in sad 
procession, she lifted her head, while a decided resolve 
came into her eyes. 

“That is my decision, Joseph Eandall,” she said, lay- 
ing her husband’s touching letter upon the smouldering 
embers, and watching it blacken as their fiery breath 
consumed it. 

“ I cannot — I will not forgive the past. The last tie of 
affection which bound me to you was broken when little 


126 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Blossom died. Henceforth go your way, and I will go 
mine.” 

She rose, went out of the room into the wide, lower 
hall, and straight to her sleeping apartment, without one 
glance toward the great live oak tree, in whose dense 
shadow a wild-eyed, anxious man awaited her coming, to 
breathe upon his wretched existence one little breath of 
hope. 


CHAPTER IX. 


THE MAN BY THE LIVE OAK TREE. 

TT is such a lovely night,” said Nina, addressing 
Florence, later in the evening, “ let us go down 
by the gate for a little walk. It will make us sleep more 
soundly.” 

Throwing shawls over their heads, the two girls strolled 
out under the clear star-lit skies. 

“ The sky seems so close to the earth on nights like this 
in the South, that it almost seems as if one might reach 
up and pluck a star from it,” said Nina, gazing with rapt 
admiration at the resplendent heavens above her head. 

“Are the stars nearer than at the North?” asked 
Florence. 

“ They seem so,” replied Nina. “ See that beautiful, 
brilliant star, Flossie, away in the East. It is like a 
grand, magnificent diamond, with its flashes of pale-blue 
and rosy light.” 

“ It makes me think of the Star of Bethlehem,” said 
Florence, clasping her arm close about Nina’s waist. 
“ The beautiful star which the wise men saw. I wish — 
oh, Nina, I wish I had lived when he was on earth.” 

127 


128 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


A glad, glad thrill swept through Nina’s heart at 
Florence’s words. She knew that a change had come to 
her cousin, and a thanksgiving went up to God before 
she replied, in tones which she tried to control, but which 
thrilled with the echoes of that glad thanksgiving : 

“ Why do you wish it, Flossie ? ” 

“ Because it would not be so difficult to believe in him, 
if one could only see him.” 

“And yet,” said Nina, calmly, “those who saw him, 
and the miracles which he performed in their presence, 
were the very ones who put him to death.” . 

“ I do not see how they could.” Florence’s voice had 
a tender under-current of remorse, which Nina knew 
would not have been, had she doubted her Saviour’s 
cruel death. 

“ I am very glad that I did not live then,” returned 
Nina ; “ for I might have been among his murderers, and 
that would have been terrible. Now I have the record 
of his life, and that of his disciples, to help me to under- 
stand. Not only this, but I have the assurance of hun- 
dreds of thousands of Christians, who have lived in the 
years from that day to this, that all the things promised 
them by their Lord have been amply fulfilled. It is only 
unbelievers who judge God’s mercy by the woes and 
miseries they bring upon themselves.” 

“ I begin to see a little — a very little,” mused Florence. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


129 


“ May I ask God to help you to a perfect understand- 
ing, and a clear sight ? ” asked Nina, clasping Florence’s 
hand caressingly. 

“ I don’t know,” said Florence, hesitatingly. “ I am 
afraid that grandpapa would be very angry if he knew 
that I am thinking of these things.” 

At that moment Nina grasped Florence’s arm in a 
stattled manner. 

“Did you see that, Flossie?” she asked, in frightened 
tones. 

“ What ? ” Florence tried to peer through the dense 
shadows which lay in the direction to which Nina was 
pointing. 

They were near the live oak tree. 

“A — a man’s face,” exclaimed Nina, trembling in every 
limb, and almost paralyzed with fear. “A ghastly, white 
face, with wild, sunken eyes, and long, rough beard. It 
was thrust out into the light so close to me that I saw 
every feature of it distinctly as I now see you. Oh, let 
us go back to the house quickly. I am so frightened.” 

Clinging to each other in convulsive terror, the two 
girls hastened back to the house as fast as their trembling 
limbs would carry them. 

Once within its friendly shelter, they stood quite still 
under the hall chandelier, and gazed at each other with 
troubled eyes. 

I 


130 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


‘‘ What shall we do ? ” asked Florence. 

“ Ought we to tell grandpapa ? ” questioned Nina. 

“Oh, yes, we ought — we must. No man would be 
prowling about the grounds at this time of night, unless 
he had some evil motive for so doing.” 

While she spoke, the clear-toned chimes of the dining- 
room clock rang through the hall, counting off the hour 
of eight. 

Colonel Chester was in his own room, where the girls 
sought and found him. 

They related their adventure in short, startled sen- 
tences. 

“ I would know him anywhere if I saw him again,” 
said Nina. “ He had such a wild, white face. He 
looked desperate enough for any crime.” 

A look of deep anxiety crossed Colonel Chester’s face. 

“ I must see about this at once,” he said, hastily. 

Calling Jake, Colonel Chester went with him to search 
the grounds. 

After a careful and fruitless search, he returned to his 
room, where his two granddaughters were crouched close 
together beside the fire. 

“ Did you find him ? ” they asked, in hushed voices. 

“ No. I think it was only Nina’s fancy, which con- 
verted some object into the resemblance of a man’s face.” 
But the troubled look upon his face denied his assertion. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


131 


“No,” said Nina, decidedly. “I saw it quite plainly. 
The man must have been very wicked, or very wretched, 
to have such a face.” 

“ Well, dears, go to bed now and forget all about it,” 
he said, with assumed cheerfulness. “At most, it was 
only some poor tramp, or perhaps a man the worse for 
liquor.” 

Having dismissed his granddaughters with a “good- 
night” kiss, Colonel Chester turned back into his room 
with a troubled expression in his kindly eyes. 

“I am more worried about this circumstance than I 
want the girls to suspect,” he said, drawing the curtains 
over the window, after making certain the shutters were 
closed. It must be one who knows that I have money 
in the house to-night. Fifteen thousand dollars is enough 
to tempt a man to any crime, in order to gain possession 
of it. 

“ It was a careless piece of business. I would not 
feel the responsibility so greatly if the money belonged 
to me ; but this fifteen thousand dollars represents the 
entire fortune of the children of my old friend Sanders. 
He trusted me with the charge of their money until the 
youngest child should be of age.” 

He stood gazing silently into the fire for a few moments, 
then he spoke again, in tones of deep anxiety : 

“I should be punished for my unbusiness- like transac- 


132 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


tion of yesterday ; but anxiety for their money prompted 
me to do as I did. I had strong reasons to suspect that 
the bank in which I had deposited the money was un- 
safe, and I drew it out, fully intending to immediately de- 
posit it in another bank. Of course I must needs stop 
to speak to this and that acquaintance; and my watch 
being ten minutes slow I reached the bank too late, and 
decided that my safe at home was as secure as any place 
then available. To-day being Christmas, the banks were 
all closed, and I must keep the money for another night. 
I did not worry about it last night, for I had no idea that 
any one knew of its being in my possession. Some one 
must have seen me draw the money, and watched to 
see that I did not again deposit it. It is strange they 
did not attempt to get hold of it last night. Perhaps 
they did attempt it, and were thwarted in some wmy.” 

“ It is fortunate — most fortunate,” he added, “ that the 
girls saw him. I must not dare to close my eyes in sleep 
this night. I do not dare. I will guard my dead friend’s 
money ; and to make things doubly safe, I will tell Jake 
that I wish him to sleep in my room.” 

He summoned his faithful servant. 

“ Jake,” he said, as the woolly head was thrust in at 
the door, “ I have one of my wakeful nights to-night, and 
shall want you to sleep here in my room, to be ready if I 
need you. Bring up a good supply of fire-wood. I shall 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


133 


probably keep the fire all night. And, Jake, get a 
plate of apples and oranges. I may want them before 
morning.’^ 

“Yes, sah, an’ de wine, sah?” 

“ Yes, you may bring me a bottle of wine too. It will 
be company for me.” 

Jake hastened to do his bidding ; and when all the 
preparations for the night’s vigils were complete, took a 
large blanket, and stretched himself in front of the 
cheerful grate, lying with his head toward the fire. 

“ His skull is thick,” mused Colonel Chester, smiling at 
the position Jake had taken, “ and his intellect only be- 
comes brighter by baking his brain.” 

Then the long night-watch began ; for the man was too 
true to the trust reposed in him to venture to sleep while 
danger threatened his charge. 

How slowly and silently the long hours pass during the 
night watches! 

Colonel Chester drank a glass of wine, to warm and 
cheer him. He ate an apple ; he walked over to his safe 
and looked to see if the money was really there ; then, 
after making sure that Jake w^as sound asleep, and would 
not detect him in the act, he drew Nina’s little worn 
Bible from his pocket. 

“ I may as well read a little in it to keep me awake,” 
he thought. “ It is a remarkable story — remarkable ; 


134 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


and what is more remarkable than the story is that so 
many intelligent people fully believe in it.” 

He read for an hour, then rose, replenished the fire, 
drank more wine, glanced at the safe, examined his re- 
volver, which lay near him, and settled himself for more 
reading. This programme was repeated several times, 
when, at length, settling himself more comfortably in his 
easy ch^ir, he closed the book and gave himself up to 
thought. 

The chair, a large stufied one, capable of holding a 
larger man than Colonel Chester in its capacious arms, 
was very comfortable, and invited slumber. The fire 
sent up ruddy tongues of flame, and crackled and roared 
most drowsily, flinging out warm, soothing rays, urging 
him to take a nap. The influence in favor of sleep was 
strong, but Colonel Chester’s will-power was stronger ; and 
had it not been for one thing he never would have 
brought sorrow and disgrace upon himself by falling 
asleep during his self-imposed watch. He could resist 
the influence of the chair ; he could shake oflT the drowsy 
efiects of the fire ; but a power was working within him, 
over which his own will-power was as nothing. 

The fumes of the wine he had swallowed crept steadily 
from his stomach to his brain, dulling it, wrapping it in a 
mantle of oblivion, gaining the ascendancy over his bet- 
ter judgment, and at last lulling him to sleep. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


135 


The fire crackled and danced over the wood in the 
grate ; laughed, and hissed, and sputtered, and roared, 
and sent out genial warmth to hold him captive. Jake 
slept on the floor before the fire, and snored uproar- 
iously, while his master slept in his great easy chair, and 
joined the chorus with his heavy breathing. The door 
was locked and bolted ; the revolver lay near Colonel 
Chester’s hand ; but that hand was paralyzed by sleep — 
sleep and wine. 

He might as well have been slumbering in his bed, as 
in his easy chair. The robber could now come in and 
take the treasure ; for the man’s senses were wrapped in 
slumber, and deadened by wine. Yet, even in his sleep, 
his mind seemed to be burdened with his responsibility ) 
for once or twice he moved restlessly in his chair, mut- 
tering something about the money. 

After a while, the fire burned low, smouldered, and went 
out ; and the outside chill began to creep steadily into 
the room. When the first pink flush of the new day 
began to spread its rosy light across the Eastern horizon, 
Colonel Chester awoke — numbed with the cold, and 
cramped with the unc^pafqrtable position in which he 
had lain for so long a time. 

Jake still slumbered soundly, just where he had 
thrown himself the night before. 

Colonel Chester could scarcely move, at first ; but after 


136 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


one or two ineffectual efforts, he succeeded in straightening 
his stiffened limbs, and collecting his bewildered senses. 

“ Ah ! ” he exclaimed, as his eyes fell upon the re- 
volver, lying where he had placed it, ready for instanta- 
neous use, “ I have been drugged.’’ 

Yes, Colonel Chester, you had been drugged ; and 
the drug which numbed your faculties when they should 
have been the keenest, was placed to your lips by your 
own hand. It was nothing, more or less, than the poison 
which lurks in ruby wine. 

Colonel Chester next discovered that the key which 
had been in his door the night before, now lay on the 
table. 

Going to the door, he found, what he expected, that 
the door was unlocked. 

He had never made a practice of keeping much money 
or any valuables at the house ; and the stout iron box, in 
which he kept his papers, was what he called his safe. 
This had a peculiar lock on it. One made especially for 
him, and could not be unlocked, except with its own 
key. He feared to turn his eyes in that direction, so 
certain was he that his apprehensions would be realized. 

The safe, or box, stood in a shadowed corner of the 
room, and he was obliged to cross over to it, and stoop 
down before he could see its door. 

As he did so, he beheld the key in the lock. Great 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


137 


drops of sweat gathered under the edge of his gray hair, 
when he had made this discovery. 

With trembling hands he threw open the door, and 
gazed into the space within. There lay all his papers 
undisturbed. Even his wallet, with a few dollars in it, 
lay where he had placed it the night before; but the 
money — his dead friend’s money — was gone. 

Like a palsied old man, he groped his way back to the 
table, and taking the lamp, searched among his papers 
for the missing money. — It was not there. 

“Laws a massa, Marse Chestah! I thought yo’s a 
spook — yo’ look so white and skeery.” 

Jake was sitting up on his blanket, regarding Colonel 
Chester with frightened eyes. 

“ Jake,” said Colonel Chester, dropping into a chair, and 
putting both hands to his face, while his voice sounded 
weak and pitiful as a child’s, “Jake, I have been robbed.” 

“ Eh, what ! Yo’ don’ tell me ’at he commed in while 
we was asleep ? ” cried Jake, now thoroughly aroused. 

“ Yes, he came in while we were asleep, and robbed 
me!” 

“ Oh, Marse Chestah, yo’ ought ter be berry thankful 
’at yo’ aint dead this minute. I is,” responded Jake, 
fervently. 

“ It is gone ; all gone ! ” was the only reply Colonel 
Chester made. 


138 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“We mount search de house,” suggested Jake, fidget- 
ing about in his sympathy for his old master. Jake 
was one of those loyal souls, who preferred to remain 
with the man who had owned him in the old slavery 
days. 

“ If de ole marse do jis’ as well by me, an’ a trifie 
better, dan a stranger, why mount I stay by him, an’ 
’sist his reclinin’ steps down to de grabe ? ” 

Jake would say, when the subject of their old relations 
was mentioned in his presence. 

In answer to Jake’s suggestion to search for the bur- 
glar, Colonel Chester shook his head sadly. 

Then, seeming to arouse suddenly from out of his fit 
of despondency, he turned towards Jake. 

“ Call Miss Nina, at once,” he said. 

“De young misses ain’t got up yet, Marse Chestah,” 
said Jake, bowing deferentially. 

“Then wake her up, immediately, and don’t waste 
precious time talking back to me,” he cried, with some- 
thing of the old authority which had characterized him 
in the old slave days. He was a kind master ; but he 
allowed no interference or suggestion from his slaves. 

At the first sound of Colonel Chester’s quick, decisive 
voice, Jake “ ducked ” his woolly head, as if dodging some 
missile hurled from his master’s hand. 

The movement was unnecessary, however; for nothing 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 139 

followed his command except to revoke it, almost in the 
same breath in which it was uttered. 

“ Stay, Jake,” he said, as Jake was about to do his 
bidding. “ It will take too much time for her to dress. 
I must be on the robber’s track at once. I will go to 
her room for a description of the man.” 

When the first pink flush of the early morning crept 
into her room, Nina was awakened by a tapping on her 
door, and her grandfather’s voice, saying : 

“ Do not be frightened, dear. I wish to speak to you 
at once on a very important subject. I cannot wait for 
you to dress. May I come in ? ” 

“ Yes, grandpapa,” she answered, lifting her head from 
the pillow, and surprised at his early call. 

Mrs. Kandall’s room joined Nina’s, and the door lead- 
ing into it was ajar, as was also the door between Nina’s 
room and Florence’s ; but Florence was now sleeping 
soundly, and did not hear her grandfather’s question or 
Nina’s answer. 

The girls had related their adventure to Mrs. Kandall 
the night before, and had begged permission to leave 
the connecting doors open as a means of greater safety, 
in case the man gained entrance to the house. 

Mrs. Eandall had assured them, with a sorrowful 
smile, that it was quite unnecessary. 

When it was too late to grant her husband’s re- 


140 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


quest, she repented that she had not gone to him, and 
especially when Nina described him as she had seen him, 
standing, and as she knew, upon the verge of hope. The 
wild look in his eyes, which had so strangely impressed 
Nina, was the gloom of despair. 

“ Oh, I might have gone to him. It would not have 
harmed me to have spoken one little word, even though 
that word contained no hope or forgiveness. I have been 
cruel to deny him the sight of my face, and the touch of 
my hand.” She sobbed when the girls had retired to 
their own rooms, leaving their doors ajar to protect them- 
selves from the man whom she had once loved, and still 
loved, as her self-accusations testified. 

All that long night, while the two girls slept secure in 
the thought of those doors ajar, the sorrowful woman 
kept silent watch, with her aching heart and her shad- 
owed past for company. The balm of sleep had not, for 
one moment, visited her eyes during that solemn vigil. 

Her hearing, quickened and intensified by her anxiety, 
caught the first word spoken by Colonel Chester at Nina’s 
door. In some way her heart warned her that his er- 
rand to Nina’s room at that unseemly hour had reference 
to her husband, and she listened feverishly, with her hands 
clasped over her heart, and with suspended breath, for 
the words he should utter to confirm her fears. 

“ Nina,” said Colonel Chester, after entering her room 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


141 


and closing the door behind him, “ I want you to tell me 
exactly how the man looked whom you saw in my 
grounds last night?” 

“ What has happened, grandpapa ? ” she asked, notic- 
ing how pale he was. 

“ Never mind now. I will tell you later. I must get 
a description of him, and capture him, if possible, before 
he leaves the city. Can you remember just how he 
looked?” 

“I can remember his face. It was all I saw. We 
were near the live oak tree, when I saw his face quite 
close to me, for one minute, then it was gone. He had a 
long, bushy beard, and wild, hollow eyes. His face was 
thin, as if by starvation ” 

“ Oh,” moaned the wretched listener in the next room, 
*' his heart was starving, and I refused him a morsel of 
food.” 

“ He wore a wide-rimmed slouch hat,” continued Nina, 
and — oh, yes — I saw quite plainly — a red mark on his 
right cheek, as if he had been wounded, and the wound 
had not yet healed. The night was very clear, and I 
saw him quite plainly.” 

“ Your description is sufficient,” said Colonel Chester, 
briskly. “ That will help to identify him. Take another 
nap if you can, dear. I will try to be back for break- 
fast.” 


142 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


He bent over her and left a warm kiss on her rosy 
lips, then hurriedly quitted the room ; and those two, Nina 
and Mrs. Randall, heard him going down the long hall, 
and out of the front door. They then heard the sound 
of his horses’ feet in the yard, and the quick thuds with 
which they beat upon the hard road outside. 

“ Oh, my husband, can it be that you are worse than I 
thought?” moaned Mrs. Randall. ^‘Have you added 
another crime to those which the law protected you in 
committing ? You killed your child, ruined our home, 
committed moral suicide, transgressed every law of 
humanity, and broke my heart ; but the law did not in- 
terfere. Now if you have taken one dollar which was 
not yours, the law will condemn you to its extreme pen- 
alty. Shame, I say, on laws which hold a copper cent 
of greater value than a woman’s heart.” 


CHAPTER X. 


A BLOW AT KINO ALCOHOL. 

W HEN Colonel Chester returned from the city he 
found the entire family assembled in the back 
parlor. They had heard all through Jake. The young 
people were eager with excitement. Mrs. Randall had 
a wild dread in her eyes. 

Nina had related the whole circumstance for Dyke’s 
benefit, and Florence had added surmises and conjectures 
of her own. Mrs. Randall alone remained silent, appar- 
ently indifierent to their conversation ; but with a poign- 
ant intensity in the sharp lines about her mouth, which, 
to a close observer, would have revealed the fact that 
their words pierced her heart like a keen-edged knife. 

It was not until Dyke, in his impetuous, boyish en- 
thusiasm, expressed the desire that Uncle Andrew would 
‘‘ catch the thief and put him where he would never be 
free to commit such a crime again,” that the anguish be- 
came too great for silent endurance ; but the moan wrung 
from her lips, by the thought that Dyke was condemning 
his own father, was drowned in the confusion of Colonel 
Chester’s entrance. 


143 


144 


THE CHESTER GIRI^. 


“ Did you find him, Uncle Andrew ? Say, did you ? ” 
asked Dyke, excitedly, before the girls could ask the 
question which they were as anxious should be answered. 

Mrs. Randall lifted her white face appealingly. She 
thought she was hiding every emotion which tortured 
her inmost being. She did not know that her heart’s 
anguish was clearly depicted on her troubled face. 

Looking past the three inquiring faces. Colonel Chester 
saw the unusual interest"with which she waited in breath- 
less anxiety for his reply. He also saw the glad, thought- 
ful look which swept, like a mighty wave, over her face 
at his negative response. 

“ What was that man to her ? ” he asked himself, as 
with a thoughtful face he went out of the room. “ There 
is but one man in the world whose actions could affect 
her in such a manner,” he said. 

After breakfast. Colonel Chester invited his sister into 
the library ; and when the door had been closed between 
them and those curious young folks, he turned to her, 
and asked : 

“ Tell me, Mary, what is that man to you, whom Nina 
saw by the live-oak tree, last night ? ” 

She did not reply, but her face paled under his search- 
ing gaze. 

“Was he your husband?” he asked, with his eyes upon 
her face. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


145 


“ Yes, Andrew, it was my husband ; but it was not he 
that robbed you. However low he may have fallen, he 
has not reached such depths of degradation as that.” 

In silence he led her to a chair, then turning to his 
desk, wrote a few lines, rapidly, and handed the open 
note to her. It was addressed to the Chief of Police, 
and read as follows ; 

I withdraw the charge made this morning. Call in your 
detectives, and let the matter drop. 

Andrew Chester. 

“ Oh, then, you do believe that he was innocent of that 
grave offence ? ” she cried. 

“ I believe Joe Randall stole the money that I held in 
trust,” he said, decidedly. 

Her lips parted in answer; but he silenced her, and 
continued : 

“ It will be a serious matter for me, at this time, to 
raise such a large amount of money. In order to do so, 
I shall be obliged to sacrifice much ; but I prefer to meet 
the obligation, rather than that your name be dragged 
before the public, in this affair.” 

‘‘If he is guilty, he must suffer the penalty of his 
crime,” she replied, in a slow, sad voice. 

“ I do not shield him for his own sake, Mary ; but for 
your sake, and Dyke’s. When did he ever respect your 
happiness in the past ? ” 

K 


146 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“He loved me, Andrew. It was his fatal appetite, 
which caused him to be cruel,” the woman said, in a 
pleading voice. She who had upbraided him, and re- 
proached him, could not endure that another should 
blame him. 

“ Then his love should have conquered his appetite,” 
he said, in a hard voice. “ I have no patience with that 
love which denies itself nothing for the sake of the 
being loved. As I said before, for your sake, and for 
Dyke’s, he must not be brought to justice. It ■would 
only be an added sorrow to your already heavy burden 
of sorrows; an added shame to your accumulation of 
shame on his account. It would be more than this to 
your boy, Mary. Better, by far, that we go into beg- 
gary, if need be, than to cast such a blight upon his 
hopeful young life, at its very commencement. I have 
read somewhere, that the sins of the father are visited 
upon the children ; and I know the saying is true.” 

Colonel Chester did not, at that moment, remember 
where, within the last few hours, he had read that sen- 
tence ; but Mrs. Randall, to whom the Bible was as new 
as to her brother, remembered, and looked up quickly 
wondering if he too were reading that wonderful story. 

He did not notice her glance of silent inquiry, but 
continued : 

“The memory of his father’s crime would rankle in 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


147 


his heart. If by any chance he forgot it, do you think 
the world would do so, or that he would be trusted and 
respected, with such a blight upon him ? ” 

“ And yet, his father committed other crimes. Must 
Dyke be despised on account of them? Must he be 
classed among drunkards, because his father was one ? ” 

“ The world regards that in a different light. It will 
not expect him to inherit his father’s follies — only his 
actual sins.” 

“ Oh, wise, keen-sighted world,” exclaimed the unhappy 
woman, a vivid red flaming into her pale cheeks. She 
then added, in tones of fierce resentment : “ Had it not 

been for the rum-fiend, my husband would to-day be at 
the head of his profession — an honored, respected physi- 
cian — whereas he was little better than an imbecile, the 
last few months I lived with him. No one would trust 
their sick in his hands ; and he, whose education and in- 
tellect fitted him for higher places, sank to the level of 
a common day laborer. Now, if in the insane frenzy 
caused by strong drink, he robs another, that stigma will 
cling to his boy, and the other be excused. Oh, ‘ wise 
generation,’ when shall this great wrong be righted? 
Who will undertake the gigantic task of blotting this 
awful curse from a nation’s record ? What hope is there 
for our husbands, in their struggles against a mighty ap- 
petite — what salvation for our sons, when the strongest, 


148 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


the wisest, and the most respected of men, offer them the 
drink which has ruined thousands?” 

“Mary,” said Colonel Chester, solemnly laying his 
large hand, sympathetically, upon her clasped ones; 
“ you have just cause to feel deeply on the subject. I 
respect your sorrow, as I do the memory of our dead 
father. I now promise you, my poor, heart-broken sister, 
that in no way will I multiply your anxieties. Never 
again will I offer Dyke a drink of beer, or anything 
stronger.” 

“ Thank you, Andrew ; but, as the saloon-keeper says, 
when urged to abandon his fearful business, if you do 
not, some one else will. There is no safety for my boy as 
long as society tolerates it ; so long as good men drink it 
themselves. I might hope to shield him, if only the low 
and the vulgar were its advocates. Sin is usually hideous 
in the eyes of the young. It is only when sin comes 
clothed in respectability, with its deformity hidden, that 
the snare is sure to entrap unwary feet.” 

“ I see, Mary, it is a dangerous custom, at best,” said 
Colonel Chester, with bowed head. “ Never before did I 
realize that in my temperate use of wine and beer I was 
helping to drag your boy, and other mother’s boys, to 
ruin. One never sees these things clearly until they are 
brought home personally. Mary, hear me. I have not 
willfully sinned in this matter. I sinned because I did 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


149 


not see — and I will sin no more. I promise you never to 
taste of it again, except as medicine.’^ 

“ Thank God, Andrew,” she said, fervently. 

He looked up quickly. Their eyes met. They did 
not believe in the existence of God, and yet they had 
each acknowledged him, or his sayings, during that con- 
versation. 

“ Tell the children I wish to meet them in the library, 
at two o’clock,” he said, after a moment’s silence, during 
which their minds were busy over thoughts they would 
not that the other should know. 

“ I have some little matters of business to attend to,” 
he added. “ This,” significantly tapping the paper upon 
which he had just WTitten, “and other things, which will 
not admit of delay ; after that, I want to meet yourself 
and the children for a few moments.” 

AVhen he had gone and she was alone, she dropped 
her face into her hands and wept bitterly. All her re- 
sentment for past wrongs was washed away by that flood 
of tears. Love for her husband, which had drooped, and 
seemed to have died in the distant desert sands of despair, 
was revived, took root, and grew again, nourished by that 
warm shower of tears. The star of hope, which, she 
thought, had set forever, shone down upon her with its 
steady, unfailing light, as the clouds rolled away, after 
the rain of tears was past. 


150 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Oh, my husband,” she murmured, “ if I had gone to 
you last night, this would not have happened. You were 
desperate in your disappointment; crazed, it must have 
been ; for I cannot believe that you would have done the 
deed, had you been possessed of your right mind.” 

She thought over the matter intently for a few mo- 
ments, then said, with a firm conviction in her voice : 

“ Wherever that money is to-day, it is not in Joseph 
Randall’s possession. I am sure of this. He never 
robbed my brother. He is too honorable. Drunkard that 
he is, he has not lost all sense of shame ; and the hand 
which is shielding, clothing, and feeding his wretched 
family is sacred in his sight. I know this. Therefore he 
did not take the money. I will go down to my death be- 
lieving in his innocence concerning this.” 

At two o’clock they were all assembled in the library, 
according to Colonel Chester’s desire. 

A change had come over his genial face, which they 
all noticed the moment he entered the room. There was 
a troubled look in the kindly eyes, and an anxious ex- 
pression in the lines about his mouth. 

He sunk into an easy chair as if completely worn out, 
or utterly discouraged. It might have been both ; for he 
was nearly exhausted with his vain night watch. Al- 
though he had fallen asleep, his slumber had lasted but a 
sliort time, and had been altogether unrefreshing. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


151 


“A few weeks ago,” he began, “ a gentleman in El Paso 
made me an offer for a ranche, which I own in Western 
Texas, and also for some property in that town. I re- 
fused his offer at that time, because the property is worth 
many hundred dollars more than he will pay for it. 
Now, however, I am obliged to raise money, in order to 
restore what I have lost; and to do this I must sell some 
property. I have telegraphed to the gentleman in ques- 
tion, and find, by return dispatch, that he is stopping at 
Valentine, and will be glad to meet me at that place. I 
have made all arrangements to go westward this evening. 
I may be gone several days, and I wished to tell you of 
what I have done. No part of my dead friend’s money 
must be lost through me ; and as life is uncertain, I have 
added a codicil to my will, in which I have made known 
my wish to pay, from my estate, fifteen thousand dollars 
to the Sander’s heirs, in case I do not live to return.” 

“ Do not worry, Nina,” he said, seeing her eyes grow 
large with apprehension. “ There is no especial danger 
awaiting me. 1 am only preparing for such an emer- 
gency.” 

He rang the bell, and Aunt Dinah, breathing hard 
with the exertion, answered it. 

“Aunt Dinah,” he said, “ tell Jake to bring to me the 
exact number of bottles of wine and beer in the cellar.” 

“ Yes, sah,” and the round, smiling face withdrew. 


152 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Presently Jake appeared with the desired information. 

“ Dar am six bottles of wine, sah, an’ a case o’ beer, 
sah, an’ three bottles o’ sham-pain, sah. De supply am a 
gittin’ low, sah ; berry low indeed.” 

“ Very well, Jake, wait for my orders in regard to it. 
Nina,” he added, turning to his favorite granddaughter, 
“ if I were to make you a present of all that stuff Jake 
has been telling us about, what would you do with it ? ” 

She looked up in amazement, scarcely comprehending 
him. 

“Would you sell it, and give the money to the poor? 
There are quite a number of dollars represented in the 
wines and champagne ? ” 

“Would I sell it, grandpapa, if it were mine? No; 
never.” 

“ Then what would you do with it ? ” 

“ I would give it back to the earth which first nour- 
ished the vines from w-hich it was made.” 

“And you. Dyke. What would you do ? ” 

“I’d break the bottles over the nearest stone,” he cried^ 
hotly; “and I’d build a smudge about it so that no poor 
coot of a drunkard could get so much as a smell of it.” 

“ Well, Florence, what would you do?” 

“I don’t know, grandpapa. A month ago I would 
have kept it, and once in a while, on hot days, when I 
felt languid, I would have taken a glass of beer or a sip 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


153 


of wine. But Nina and Dyke have frightened me so, 
that I do not think I can ever drink it again with any 
degree of comfort or satisfaction.” 

“ Then you too would destroy it ? ” he asked. 

“Yes. I think I would,” she replied, hesitatingly. 

“ My children, I am not ashamed to follow in your 
footsteps in this. I begin to see the curse of strong drink 
as I never did before. There is no spot on earth so 
sacred to me as this, and here I promise you all never 
again to taste of that which has brought ruin to others ; 
never to have it in my house, or on my table ; never to 
have anything whatever to do with it. Are you satisfied, 
Nina, with this ? ” 

She clasped her hands together and bowed her head 
over them one moment in silent thanksgiving. Then her 
soft arms crept round his neck, and her wet cheek was 
pressed against his own. 

“ Grandpapa, I felt that I must thank God first. I 
have asked him so often to grant me this, it would be un- 
grateful not to thank him when he granted my request 
completely.” 

Colonel Chester did not reproach her for her sweet 
faith. He only clasped her closer to his heart, and kissed 
her gently. 

“We will all go out into the back yard and celebrate 
the return of those dangerous juices to mother earth,” he 


154 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


said, cheerfully, releasing Nina, and drawing Florence’s 
serious face down to his own. 

“ Jake,” he added, bring out the liquor supply.” 

^‘Yo’ doan mean it, Marse Chestah,” ejaculated Jake, 
with comically rolling eyes. “Jes’ count de waste, an’ 
de sufferin’ in de worl’, an’ doan go fo’ to do it. Dar’s 
many a sick purson dat needs dat vine, an’ oh, Marse 
Chestah, de sham-pain am berry ’spensive; ’deed it am, 
sah.” 

“ The suffering in the world is what has influenced my 
decision,” replied Colonel Chester, for the young people’s 
benefit, not for Jake’s. He never argued points with his 
servants ; but he desired to make use of Jake’s excuses 
for purposes of his own. 

“ But de sham-pain, Marse Chestah ; yo’ doan mean ter 
spill all dat lusciousness an’ spense, sah.” 

“ There is no sham in the pain it inflicts upon others,” 
said Colonel Chester, gravely. “It is bottled misery — 
strange I never realized it before.” Then, with a stern 
voice, he repeated : 

“ Do as I bid you, and bring the entire supply into the 
back yard.” 

“ Hurrah,” cried Dyke, flinging his cap to the ceiling, 
in his delight. “ The Chester family strikes one blow at 
King Alcohol to-day. May the blows fall thick and fast 
until the old tyrant is slain.” 




'//////////< 


k\\v>\\| 


WUftJf/.'f'W'; 






f.;v^ 




sriYOE.i 




IIrb\h 



RpVaV.'iffip 


Page 155. 


Chester Girls 








THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


155 


“ I return, sah, to say dat dar’s no ’casion fo’ yo’ to 
drag yo’ tired an’ weary limbs out on de house, sah. 
I ken smash de bottles in a jiffy, sah.” 

“We prefer to do the smashing,” said Colonel Cliester, 
with a peculiar smile. 

When the wines and beer were brought out. Colonel 
Chester looked them over, then turned to Jake, who was 
shaking as if with a chill, and said : 

“ There is one bottle of wine, and one of champagne 
missing, Jake ; bring them at once.” 

“ ’Deed, sah. I miscount befo’ ; dar want so many.” 

“Jake,” said Colonel Chester, in those deep bass tones 
which always struck terror to little, black Gipsy’s heart, 
“ bring those bottles at once.” 

Jake, shaking his head dubiously, and muttering 
against the waste, went back to the cellar, and brought 
out the missing bottles. 

It was a happy event for all of them. Even Florence 
felt as though a good deed had been done, when the last 
bottle had been broken, and its contents spilled upon 
the dusty earth, which opened its thirsty lips, and drank 
it up. 

“I hope the earth won’t get tipsy to-night, and go 
wandering off into space, losing its way around the 
sun. That’s a big drink for any one not used to 
swilling it down by the bucket-full,” remarked Dyke, 


156 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


contemplating the ruin a few judicious blows had 
wrought. 

At seven o’clock, Colonel Chester bade his family 
good-bye, and with Dyke, drove to the station. It was 
a melancholy journey at best, and Colonel Chester had 
a trying and painful business to attend to. To replace 
the money lost, valuable property must now be sacrificed 
for less than its actual worth. 

It was not a very bright holiday week; there were 
many things to shadow it. 

Dyke felt the financial trouble in common with the 
rest ; but the thought which weighed on him the most 
was that he was soon, for the first time in his life, to be 
separated from his mother. To be sure, he longed to 
expand his wings, unrestricted by her maternal vigi- 
lance; he longed to be a boy among the boys; but 
the sense of freedom and manhood, which the going 
out from home and mother gives to a boy, is sad- 
dened by a melancholy responsibility, and something 
akin to homesickness, when he remembers that he is 
now stepping beyond the boundary line, and that the 
careless, happy days of childhood are now in the past. 
He enters the portal of a new existence, which his 
imagination paints in rose-color; but how soon will 
those bright hues turn dim and gray ! 

Mrs. Randall’s new anxiety, and her remorse for her 


THE CHESTEK GIRLS. 


157 


unkindness to her husband, were fast humbling her 
pride. The rebellion and resentment which she had 
harbored in her heart against him, and against her 
God, were melting away in the dewy moisture of re- 
pentant tears. Many, many hours she spent, during 
the last week of the old year, reading the little Bible 
she had purchased by stealth. Her Heavenly Father, 
compassionate for her sorrow, came very near to her 
in that week — so near that once, at its close, when 
the old year was dying, she knelt at the throne of 
grace, where she had never knelt before. Though 
her lips were mute, her heart sent up its pitiful ap- 
peal for assistance in this, her hour of greatest need; 
and she was soothed and comforted in a manner which 
left no room for doubt that the divine presence had been 
about her, and still lingered in her heart. 

The two girls, awed by the calamity which had fallen 
upon Grandpapa Chester, and the white look on Aunt 
Mary’s face ; conscious, too, of a sorrow in their home 
of which they were kept in ignorance, drew closer and 
closer to each other, exchanging mutual sympathies and 
confidences, and loving each other with a fuller, deeper 
afiTection than they had known before. 

Florence now confessed the purchase of the pretty 
plush Testament, and asked Nina’s explanation of 
many things she could not understand. 


158 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


A devout Christian had been Nina’s instructor in 
divine things for many years, and, as he had ex- 
plained these things to her, so she now explained 
them to Florence. 

Once, during that week, the two girls made a visit 
to Live Oaks, the home of those kind people who had 
taken Nina to their hearts when she was a helpless 
babe. 

Florence had never cared to accompany Nina on 
her visits of love before; but now she longed to see 
the result of Christian worship in a Christian family; 
she longed to kneel in the family circle; to bow her 
head, while God’s blessing was invoked upon the food 
of which they were to partake; and more than this, 
she desired to hear Nina’s gentle foster-mother speak 
of those heavenly things which were a part of her 
very existence, but which seemed so vague and dis- 
tant to the girl who was now trying to understand — 
trying to believe. 

The boys, Ned and Neil Bruce, met the girls at the 
station with the carriage. Great, handsome fellows they 
had grown to be, with a suspicion of a future moustache 
upon their upper lips ; and Nina, who had loved them, and 
romped with them all through their joyous child-life, felt 
an unaccountable reserve in their presence now. Perhaps 
something of this feeling came to them, as well ; for Neil, 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


159 


after he had caught her up in his arras, and had kissed 
her in the old, boyish fashion of their childhood, set her 
down, and gazed at her in surprise, while the red on his 
cheeks deepened to a painful intensity. Perhaps it was 
the stylish new suit, perhaps it was that undefined some- 
thing, which has power, in a few weeks, to change a 
merry girl into a woman. At any rate, they all recog- 
nized the change, with a deep sense of disappointment. 

“ I don’t see how you dared to kiss Nina in that way,” 
remarked Ned, as he came forward, and gave her a 
bashful welcome, which was just as warm and aflfectionate 
as his brother’s had been. 

“ I don’t think I would have dared, if I had stopped 
to look at her first,” Neil confessed, as he greeted “ Miss 
Florence.” “ But you know that’s the way we used to 
kiss our little sister.” 

“ Oh, dear ! ” sighed Nina, dolefully ; “ why need chil- 
dren grow up ? ” 

And the boys’ hearts echoed the sentiment, though they 
both secretly confessed that “ Nina was a sight prettier 
than ever in her childhood.” 

“Two big satchels,” said Ned, as he bore them tri- 
umphantly to the carriage. “ What a sight of clothes it 
takes to supply a girl ! ” 

“ The satchels are full of Christmas presents for your 
ungrateful self and family,” said Florence, laughing. 


160 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Oh ! I beg pardon,” replied Ned, humbly. ** Isn’t 
there another somewhere ? ” 

“ No, that is all.” 

Papa and Mamma Bruce welcomed the girls with 
open arms and affectionate kisses; and, if the kisses 
on Nina’s lips were a trifle tenderer, and the arms clasped 
about Nina a bit more loving in their pressure, they were 
careful that Florence should not perceive it. 

They had not been in the Bruce home an hour till 
Florence confided to Nina that she just loved Mrs. 
Bruce, and if God had given her such a mother, when 
her own died, she would have been a better girl. 

“ You are a dear, good girl, as it is, Florrie,” replied 
Nina ; “ and you grow better and dearer every day.” 

Three happy, joyous days were spent at Live Oaks, 
during which they almost forgot the shadow resting on 
their home ; and then, amid kisses and regrets, and a few 
tears from feminine eyes, which the stronger masculine 
nature failed to exhibit, and, accordingly, winked back 
to their proper place, the two girls returned to the city, 
in order to be ready to resume their studies. 

Florence had found all she had hoped to find in that 
Christian home. She discovered the real source of their 
content and happiness. She felt that, even if there were 
no hereafter, the Christian receives abundant reward for 
his faith in the blessings it showers upon him here. 


CHAPTER XI. 


COLONEL CHESTER S ILLNESS. 



HE day before Hew Years, Colonel Chester returned 


home. He had completed his business arrange- 
ments with the man he had gone to meet ; but the result 
was far from satisfactory. He smiled with his “ young 
people,” and endeavored to become interested in their 
affairs, as formerly; but his efforts were miserable failures. 

On New Year’s Day, while they were all sitting around 
the fire. Colonel Chester said, with an effort to throw off 
all signs of depression on this first day of the year : 

I wrote a letter this morning, and forgot the new 
date. I wonder how many letters written to-day will 
have a six made over a five.” 

“ Did you date your letter 1886, grandpapa ? ” asked 
Nina, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. 

“ To be sure I did — after I had first dated it 1885,” he 
replied. 

“ Isn’t it strange, grandpapa, how the whole world — 
unbelievers, as well as Christians — acknowledges the birth 
of our Saviour every time they write a letter ? ” 

Then, without waiting for his reply, she continued : 


L 


161 


162 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


‘‘Rome, you know, was great in power, when that 
helpless little babe was born in Bethlehem, and they had 
already begun to reckon time. It was then the 747th 
year of Rome. Herod the Great was an important per- 
sonage, and time was reckoned from his birth and reign. 
It was the 67th year of Herod the Great, and the 36th 
of his reign. Now it seems to me that the world — at 
least, those who do not believe in Christ as other than a 
good man — would prefer to date their letters, and reckon 
time, from a more important event than just the birth of 
a little child, who had only a manger for his cradle, and 
never, during the thirty-three sad years of his life, had a 
place to lay his head ; who never became great in worldly 
power, or influential in a worldly sense, and who was 
finally crucified with two thieves.’* 

Florence leaned forward, with parted lips. 

“ Oh, grandpapa ! ” cried Florence, in a sharp, clear 
voice, with the ring of conviction in it. “ He was not a 
common man, else all these things would not be. See, 
we who have not believed in him, are obliged to acknowl- 
edge him every time we write a letter.” 

“ You, too, Florence ! ” he replied, not angrily, but 
reproachfully, as he rose and walked out of the room. 

“ What is it ? ” he asked himself, when he was alone, 
“this influence, which is stronger than I? How came 
that girl by her superior knowledge of these things, at a 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


163 


time when she should only know the proper shade of 
ribbons, and the most stylish drapings for her skirts? 
Why is it that the whole world has accepted this date ? 
What is the meaning of these thoughts which crowd 
upon me ? Can it be that, after a long life of confident 
assurance in the non-existence of God, and especially of 
Christ, as the Saviour of the world, and a divine being, a 
girl’s puny hands are beating down the strong wall upon 
which my beliefs are founded ? But, if this thing is of 
God — if he is what the Christian world believe him to 
be — then I am helpless in his hands, and this weak girl 
is stronger than I. 

“ I am not bigoted in my unbelief of these things. I 
have reached my conclusions after conscientious research 
and thought. To be sure, I have studied the works of 
man, rather than the so-called book of God ; and I now 
acknowledge that I have erred in this. No man can 
judge correctly of a work until he becomes pretty con- 
versant with that work. I am surprised to find how little 
I know of the Bible story, as it is recorded in Nina’s 
book. I have, as yet, found no harm in it. Its teach- 
ings are pure, and the world cannot be wronged by it, 
if they accept its truths in a rational light, which a few 
of the Christian churches do. I find no quarreling and 
bickering over creeds and dogmas there. But I will try 
to forget all these, in my study of the Bible. I cannot 


164 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


now be satisfied with anything short of a thorough 
knowledge of the Bible; and until I have gained this, I 
will have no further conversation with Nina on the 
subject.” 

The next week. Dyke departed for his distant school ; 
the two girls resumed their interrupted studies, and life 
at Colonel Chester’s passed much as it had done before, 
except that the Colonel seemed older and graver. Mrs. 
Randall had the appearance of one who was fighting a 
silent battle of remorse and sorrow; and the two girls 
were more thoughtful, more tenderly considerate of 
others. They noticed that, as the days wore on. Grand- 
papa Chester’s step grew slow, and his movements seemed 
to cost him a great eflbrt ; that he ate but little food, and 
would sit for hours in silent meditation. 

“ He is fretting over that money,” said Florence, one 
day. “ Oh, I wish I could help him. It seems such a 
shame for us all to sit idly by, when he is struggling 
under this great burden alone.” 

Colonel Chester’s affliction was bearing good fruit, in 
many ways. Our greatest blessings are born from our 
deepest afflictions. We should thank God for our sor- 
rows, since they are as stepping-stones to the “ glorious 
beyond.” 

Florence’s worst fault was selfishness. Reared in 
luxury, with every wish gratified as soon as made known, 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


165 


self had filled a prominent place in her life. She 
watched her grandfather’s anxiety, and her whole heart 
went out to him in generous impulse, with longing to lift 
a part of his burden, and help him to bear it. 

Near the last of January, Colonel Chester informed his 
family that it would again be necessary for him to be 
absent from home for several days. Once more he de- 
parted for the western part of the State; and again a 
sense of loneliness settled upon the entire household. 

He had been gone but three days, when the first of a 
series of calamities visited the family. Mrs. Randall, in 
stepping from the carriage, sprained her ankle, seriously ; 
so much so, that she was confined to her couch, and un- 
able to use her foot, in the least. 

The next morning, while she was still suffering greatly 
with the sprain, just after the doctor had suggested the 
possibilty of erysipelas “ setting in,” Aunt Dinah, who 
seemed to be the “ main stay ” of the family in their dis- 
tress, informed them that “ Jake don’ fitch me wo’d ’at 
my olest chile, Liz’e Ann, am berry sick wid hydrostatics 
of de spinal column. Her as was married las’ spring ; 
an’ her ole mammy mus’ go to her in her ’fliction.” 

Of course they could not deny the old woman’s re- 
quest, especially as her daughter was suffering with such 
an unusual disease. 

“ I’se berry worried ’bout de house, an’ Miss Mary, an’ 


166 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


my gal what I used to tote in these ole arms, un’ Is’e 
nearly constructed in de duties a pullin’ as on all sides 
ob me to onct,” she said, with tears of anxiety in her 
eyes. 

“ Don’t fret about us, aunty,” said Florence, cheerfully. 
“ We shall get along nicely, I assure you.” 

“ Yes,” chimed in Nina, re-assuringly. “ I will look 
after the kitchen and household affairs, and Florence can 
nurse Aunt Mary.”_^ 

And so, with many dubious shakes of her turbaned 
head. Aunt Dinah departed ; leaving the two girls in 
charge of the great house, and Aunt Mary’s swollen 
ankle. Florence bathed the ankle, and combed Aunt 
Mary’s long brown hair, with gentle touches, and pre- 
pared dainty little dishes for her, in the kitchen, assisted 
by Nina’s superior knowledge of cookery. Indeed, she 
made herself so useful and lovable that she bore but a 
shadowy resemblance to the girl who was called by her 
name a few months before. Nina ruled the kitchen, 
dusted the parlor, bought the vegetables, and proved to 
be quite as efficient, in her department, as Florence in 
hers. 

They were both very tired and very busy, and right 
in the midst of it all came a person saying that a gentle- 
man at Lester, through which he had passed the night 
before, finding that he was on his way to San Antonio, 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 167 

had begged him to deliver a message at Colonel Chester’s 
home. 

Colonel Chester was ill, dangerously ill, in that desolate 
Western station. A few rooms in the depot and a few 
tents, comprised the lodging places of the town. No 
nurse, or practicing physician was within many miles. 

“The gentleman who wished me to deliver the mes- 
sage,” continued the stranger, “ said that he had practiced 
medicine years ago, and that he would do all that loving 
care and his medical knowledge could effect until some 
one arrived to attend the sick man, who was much too ill 
to be moved at present. He hinted at the possibility of 
small-pox. He said the symptoms were similar.” 

When the gentleman, having delivered his message, 
went away, the two girls stood quite still, regarding each 
other with startled glances. 

“ What shall we do ? ” they asked, in a breath ; and 
carried the question to Aunt Mary for an answer. 

“ Poor grandpapa,” sobbed Florence ; “ sick, in trouble, 
and away from home and home comforts.” 

“I cannot go to him,” said Aunt Mary, looking at her 
helpless limb woefully. “Aunt Dinah cannot go; and I 
think there is nothing else to be done but to send some 
hired nurse to him.” 

“ Aunt Mary,” said Nina, bravely, “ we will do nothing 
of the kind. Grandpapa is too precious to all of us to 


168 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


turn him over in his helplessness to a stranger. I will go 
to him.” 

“You, child, are you crazy?” exclaimed Aunt Mary, 
in consternation. 

“No,” said Nina, decidedly. “I was never more 
rational in my life. Oh, how I thank God for those years 
spent with papa and mamma Bruce in Michigan! I 
learned then to cook, to sew, to nurse in sickness, and 
to do a hundred helpful things which will be of use to 
me in that lonely place where grandpapa is sick.” 

“ But, Nina, I cannot think of permitting you, a young 
girl, to go away out there alone. It would be most im- 
prudent. Is there no one, no gentleman friend of 
Andrew’s, who will accompany you ? ” 

“ Possibly ; but I have no time in which to seek him 
out. Every moment is precious now^ I must take this 
evening’s train. You must let me go. Aunt Mary,” she 
said gently, but firmly. “The God in whom I trust will 
watch over me, and will shield me from all harm.” 

Looking at her, as she stood there with her brave re- 
solve shining in her clear eyes, and wrapped in the 
w^omanly dignity which her new responsibility had cast 
about her. Aunt Mary decided that Nina should go, as 
she desired. 

The remainder of the day was spent in preparations for 
Nina’s departure. A hamper of delicacies, which she 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


169 


hoped grandpapa might be able to eat, was prepared by 
Florence’s loving hand. Many things needful in a sick 
room were packed into Nina’s small trunk. 

Aunt Mary made suggestions and advised, while the 
two girls worked. 

“ Oh, Nina, Nina, if it should be the small-pox !” cried 
Florence, in distress, a? she clung to her cousin, when they 
were seated in the carriage and driven, by Jake, to the 
station. Florence felt that she could not bear to lose sight 
of Nina for one moment until the train bore her away. 
“Dearly as I love grandpapa, and willing as I would be 
to do anything for him, I am afraid I would not dare to 
go where there is danger of death. Oh, Nina, I am so 
afraid of death and the beyond.” 

“ I have not even thought of that,” said Nina, calmly ; 
“ but I am not afraid, Flossie. If I must die now, I can 
trust the future in the hands of him who first gave me 
the breath of life.” 

“ It seems so selfish for me to stay here in safety, while 
you are going into danger. I almost hate myself for my 
cowardice,” said Florence. 

“ You could do him no good by going,” replied Nina, 
persuasively, “ and you are needed here. It will be very 
hard for you until Aunt Dinah returns ; and you have 
never been accustomed to any responsibility.” 

“ I will do my best,” said Florence, earnestly. 


170 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ That is all God requires of any one ; and if you ask 
him to help you, you will find that your best is better 
than you thought possible,” said Nina. 

“I will. Oh, Nina, I did ask him to-day to save 
grandpapa. But I felt like a stranger, and I am not sure 
that he heard me ; but I was in such trouble.” 

“ Keep asking him, Florrie, often in the day, and you 
will be surprised how very soon you will feel acquainted 
with him, and how light your burdens will become.” 

Jake threw open the carriage door at that moment. 
Then followed the confusion of buying tickets, and good- 
bye kisses, mingled with tears. Then came the mo- 
tion of the train, as Nina rode away alone into the far 
Texas wilderness. 

The lonely girl longed to question the conductor in re- 
gard to grandpapa and Lester ; but he had an unpleasant 
face, and she did not dare. Then the thought came to her 
that this was the train on which Ned had once been 
brakeman. If only he were here now, what a comfort 
and consolation it would be to her ! She would not then 
be so lonely at Lester, while grandpapa was sick, because 
every day or two Ned’s train would pass, and she would 
have a few moments to chat with him ; and if she needed 
things in the city for grandpapa’s comfort, Ned would 
bring them to her when he came ; but Ned was no longer 
on the road, and the trainmen were all strangers to her. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


171 


Thinking of Ned, and the comfort his presence would 
have given her at this time, caused her to scan closely the 
face of the brakeman who was occupying Ned’s place. He 
had such a bright, young face, and looked so kindly dis- 
posed, that she felt she might safely tell him her trouble. 
When she had broached the subject to him, he talked 
with her so sympathetically and kindly that she felt less 
lonely. He offered to do any errand she might desire in 
the city, while she remained at Lester. 

“ It is terrible to be sick in such an out-of-the-way 
place as Lester ; and it seems to me you will hardly be 
equal to the hardships you will meet with there,” he said, 
gazing at the slender girl compassionately. 

“ I must be brave, and strong, for dear grandpapa’s 
sake,” she replied, with a slight quiver in her voice. 

All night Nina rode westward ; and in the early morn- 
ing, her new friend, the brakeman, came to assist her to 
alight. 

It seemed to her that she had never seen anything so 
desolate as that landscape of rocks — ^gray, barren rocks, 
and reaching on, in rugged desolation, as far as she could 
see. Not even a yucca (Spanish dagger), or a cactus plant, 
to relieve the monotony of the scene. The only objects 
which broke the wide expanse of dreary rocks, were a 
few gray tents, and a gray depot. Everything, even the 
overhanging sky, was of the same dull gray. 


172 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


There were a few men at the station, w’ho seemed to be 
gathered there to glean items of news from the world 
beyond. The advent of the train was the one exciting 
event in their isolated existence. 

Among these faces, Nina saw one which looked 
strangely familiar, and yet she could not remember 
having seen it before. 

There was something almost pathetic in the eager 
intensity with which this person scanned the faces of 
those gettiug off from the cars. A cloud of disappoint- 
ment settled over his countenance, when those who in- 
tended to stop for lunch had all stepped down ; and Nina 
involuntarily turned, and looked at him again, the face 
' seemed so familiar. 

“ Can you tell this young lady where she can find the 
gentleman who was taken sick here a day or two ago ? 
asked the brakeman, addressing this gentleman. 

“ Certainly. I was in hopes that his friends would 
come on this train ; but I thought — that is, I expected — 
it w’ould be his sister, Mrs. Randall ” — he replied, taking 
Nina’s basket from the brakernan’s hands, and leading 
the way to a small, dingy room in the station. 

“ Aunt Mary has sprained her ankle, and could not 
come,” replied Nina, modestly. “ Some one had to come ; 
and I am the only one, aside from Aunt Mary, who 
understands all about hardships.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


173 


The man winced, as if in pain ; but Nina’s thoughts 
M’ere too intent on Grandpapa Chester to notice it. 

“Have you been with him all the while?” she asked, 
when he had ushered her into the room she was to occupy 
while she remained at Lester. 

“ Yes ; all the while.” 

She lifted her eyes to his face in a searching glance. 
It was a strong, true face, shadowed by sorrow ; and she 
felt at once that she could trust him. 

Placing her hands in his, with a sweet, girlish impulse, 
she said, entreatingly : 

“ And you will not leave me, will you ? You will 
stay, and help me care for him ? ” 

“ I will, my child,” he said, solemnly. “ Together we 
will save him, if possible. He is a very sick man ; but 
you and I will fight for his life.” 

“ Oh ! thank you ! I cannot repay you now for your 
kindness ; but some time, perhaps, I may.” 

He bent his head, with its many threads of silver in 
the dark hair, and touched his lips to her soft, childish 
hand. 

“ AYhen you are ready, I will take you down to break- 
fast, such as it is,” he said. “ After which, I will take 
you to Colonel Chester’s room.” 

“I couldn’t eat a mouthful of breakfast,” she said, 
tremulously. 


174 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“But you must,” he replied, with firm decision. “I 
am a physician, and you must obey me, or I cannot per- 
mit you to enter the sick-room. I shall go with you, and 
you must eat all I think necessary before you can visit 
him.” 

“ I don’t see how I can ; but I will try,” she said. 

There was strength for the weak girl in the man’s 
gentle authority, a magnetic influence in his very pres- 
ence, which seemed to inspire her with courage ; and she 
was surprised to And that she could eat, and that she 
even relished the coarse food set before her. 

“ He will not recognize you,” said her companion, on 
opening the door to the sick-room. 

“ Has he — is it ? ” The question trembled on her 

lips, but the voice broke down before she spoke it. He 
understood it, however, and replied, re-assuringly : 

“It is typhoid-fever, brought on, I think, by some 
mental anxiety.” 

“ It was the money that was stolen from him on Christ- 
mas night,” she said, meditatively. 

“ On Christmas night ? ” he asked, quickly. He had 
glanced into the sick-room, and, seeing that his patient 
slept, had softly closed the door again, that the sound of 
their voices might not disturb him. “Does he know 
anything about the robbers ? ” 

Nina, thinking that he was the gentleman whom her 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


175 


grandfather had come to see on business, and hoping that, 
if he knew the whole circumstance, he might be more 
willing to pay her grandfather a fair price for the property 
he was about to purchase of him, decided to tell him all. 

“ There w^as only one that we saw,” she said ; “ a man 
with wild eyes and a white face. Florence and I were 
walking in the grounds that night, and we saw him down 
by the live oak tree. 

“ Do you know, I never think of him but that I am 
sorry for him?” she added, earnestly. “I know that he 
took the fifteen thousand dollars from dear grandpapa 
that night — the money he held in trust for his dead 
friend’s children ; that all the worry which has come to us 
since has been through him, and that grandpapa’s sick- 
ness was brought about by that man ; and I try to 
harden my heart against him, and to think that he de- 
serves the worst kind of punishment ; but, somehow, in 
spite of myself, I pity him.” 

“ God bless you for your loving heart,” said the man, 
unsteadily. And Nina wondered how he, a stranger, was 
so deeply afiected by her story. 

“ Does Colonel Chester think the man who robbed him, 
and the one you saw by the live oak, are the same ? ” 

“Oh, yes, indeed; for why was he there, if he did not 
know that grandpapa had the money that night? We 
all knew he took the money; and Dyke— Aunt Mary’s 


176 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


boy — said he hoped the officers would catch him — (the 
man drew a quick breath) — “ but I don’t ; only I do wish 
he would send back at least a part of it. He might do 
that.” 

“Yes, if he had it. I am quite sure if, in a moment 
of despair or frenzy, he had taken it, he would have 
returned it all in his first rational moment.” 

“I believe so too,” said Nina, quickly; “and I think 
Aunt Mary had some such thought. She did not say 
much on the subject ; but, oh, she grew so white when 
I described how wretched the man looked. I am sure, 
quite sure, she is sorry for him.” 

Her companion rose and walked with quick, impatient 
steps up and down the hall. Pausing beside her, he 
asked : 

“ Did she think that he took the money ? ” 

“Yes; we all knew it. Grandpapa and Aunt Mary 
talked it over by themselves ; and when they came out 
of the room, he had a stern look on his face, and she had 
been crying. I think that she persuaded him not to ar- 
rest the robber, because there was was nothing more said 
about it afterward.” 


CHAPTER XIL 


NUKSE AND HOUSEKEEPER. 

^TTEARY, tedious days were spent in the sick-room, 
* ’ while a strong man and a frail girl fought back 
death, each forgetting self in their labor of love. 

Once, when Nina was about addressing her new friend, 
and hesitated because she did not know his name, he 
said : 

“ My name is Gordon. You may call me Dr. Gordon, 
if you like.” 

“ He was her only companion, and was as tenderly 
thoughtful of her as a father might have been. She 
walked in the open air, ate, and slept, by his directions. 
She told him of home and Florence, Aunt Mary and 
Dyke, and he seemed never weary of listening to her. 
Especially was he interested when she opened her heart 
to him, and confided to him her deep anxiety concerning 
Grandpapa Chester’s unbelief. 

“We must not let him die now. We must not ” — she 
said, with tearful eyes. “ I cannot let my darling grand- 
papa go out of life until he believes in my Saviour. I 
have not dared to ask God to make him well again, be- 
M 177 


178 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


cause there is something so much more important than 
life. I have only asked him to convert him, and to 
save his soul.” 

One evening, Nina had been reading to Dr. Gordon 
Florence’s last letter, in which she had written of a 
low fever which seemed to have attacked Aunt Mary. 

“ She is not very ill,” Florence wrote ; “ only so weak. 
She keeps her bed most of the time ; and, Nina, dear, we 
are reading the Bible story together ; or, rather, I read, 
while Aunt Mary listens, with tears in her eyes. I think 
we are both beginning to love the dear Saviour who died 
for us.” 

“ God is good — better than I deserve. His plans are 
full of wisdom — beyond man’s comprehension,” said Dr. 
Gordon, fervently. 

Nina looked up in amazement that he should take 
such an interest in her dear ones. But, before she could 
speak, he continued : 

“ Dear child, you cannot think or imagine how low I 
have fallen. Do you know what it means to be a drunk- 
ard ? Oh, thank heaven, you do not know. I was once 
all that the word can possibly mean, and I tried so many 
times to break the chains which bound me — tried and 
failed. Bum had sapped away my moral strength, had 
weakened my intellect ; shattered my nervous system ; 
and I no longer had the power to conquer the fatal ap- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


179 


petite which was dragging me down to eternal ruin. It 
was then I called upon God, and he heard me. It was 
his mercy; his strength that saved me. Without him I 
am weaker than a child to resist temptation; with him I 
am strong as a giant.” 

“ I am so glad that you are a Christian,” said Nina, 
simply. “I always feel that those who love my Saviour 
are relatives of mine.” 

“We are all children of one Father,” he replied. 

After this conversation they sometimes read the Bible 
together. One day, when Nina was putting the room to 
rights. Grandpapa Chester’s coat fell from her hands to 
the floor, and something, a small, dark object, dropped 
from one of the pockets. 

She picked it up with a glad, little cry of delight. It 
was her own Bible — the one that good Elder Williams 
had given her, and which she had lamented as lost for- 
ever. She thought it had been destroyed weeks before. 

Why had he not destroyed, it as he had threatened ? 
Why had he carried it with him? These were questions 
the answers to which she anticipated with great satis- 
faction. 

“Your cheeks are losing their roses, dear,” said Dr. 
Gordon, one morning, when Nina had been at Lester 
several days. “ This will never do. You must keep 
your roses, in order to brighten up grandpapa’s sick 


180 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


room. I think he will soon be able to recognize his 
little nurse.” 

“ Oh, doctor, is he really better ? ” 

“ The fever is subsiding, and I shall not be surprised 
if, when he wakens again, he knows you.” 

“ How happy I shall be to have him know me again. 
But, Dr. Gordon ” Nina’s face grew thoughtful. 

“ What is it, dear ? ” 

“ The food is so poorly cooked. I am myself almost 
starved for want of something palatable. What will 
grandpapa do, when he can eat ? ” 

“ I have been thinking of that myself,” said Dr. Gor- 
don. “ If you could cook ” 

“ But I can,” she interrupted him to say. If I only 
had a place and a few cooking utensils. Oh, I wish I had.” 

“ I think I can arrange those things if you understand 
how to use them,” he said, with a smile. 

“ Just try me and see if we do not all improve on the 
good things I will prepare,” said Nina, brightly. 

“Your little room, just across the hall, will answer 
nicely for a kitchen. Your small bed occupies but a 
little space,” said Dr. Gordon, “ and I will send at once 
to the city for an oil-stove and a few dishes. I am sure 
I shall have no trouble in obtaining permission of Mr. 
Brown for this arrangement, and I will nurse our invalid 
while you prepare dainty morsels of food to tempt his ap- 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


181 


petite and our own. We can make a little dining-room 
of this end of the hall, between the two rooms. The 
window will give us sufficient light, and a curtain strung 
across will partition our apartments off from the rest of 
the house. Don’t you see how nicely w^e are fixed for 
housekeeping ? ” 

“It will be just like a play-house,” exclaimed Hina, 
delightedly. “We will have it all arranged, and as cosy 
as can be by the time grandpapa can come to the table 
with us.” 

As Dr. Gordon had expected, when that long, sweet 
sleep of Colonel Chester’s was over, he looked up into 
Nina’s anxious face with his old smile. Feebly his hand 
moved toward hers, and clasping it lovingly, he drew the 
fair, young face down and kissed it. 

“I dreamed you were with me, Nina ; only I thought I 
was a boy again, and you were my playmate, Nina” — he 
said, fondly. “The sweet girl Nina who afterward be- 
came my wife, and whom you so closely resemble.” 

Then, comprehending his environments more fully, he 
asked, in surprise : 

“ But how happens it that you are here, so many miles 
from home, and alone ? Are you alone, Nina, or is Mary 
here also ? ” 

“ I came alone, grandpapa, dear, and you will think me 
quite a little woman, I am sure, when I tell you how 


182 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


nicely I managed it all. But I could not have done so 

■well only that God” She paused apprehensively. She 

did not wish to pain him with that unpleasant topic the 
moment he recognized her. The name had sprung to her 
lips unconsciously. 

“ Say it again, Nina,” be said, faintly, while tears of 
physical weakness and remorse for a misspent life filled 
his eyes. “ Talk it to me, sing it to me, pray for me, oh, 
my pure little Nina He will listen to you, child. You 
have not sinned a long life time against his merciful love. 
Down in the valley of death, I realized my mistake. There 
my stubborn will was broken ; then my eyes were opened. 
It was then I discovered that too late I believed in your 
God and your Saviour.” 

“ Yours too, grandpapa dear,” whispered Nina, laying 
her moist, pink cheek against his own. 

“ There must be no more talking at present, unless you 
wish to do him harm,” said a pleasant voice. “ I am 
your physician. Colonel Chester, and forbid it.” 

He laid his hand, soft and gentle as a woman’s in its 
touch, on his patient’s forehead, felt his pulse, then added : 

“ But Nina may sing to you, if you like.” 

Nina, drawing her little rocker near the bed, sat down, 
and sang, in a low, sweet voice, to him who was coming 
back from the border-land of death — coming back to a 
new life in Christ. Weak as a child, ignorant of that 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


183 


new life as a child, he had much to learn ; and feeling 
that all future time would be too short in which to atone 
for the misspent past, he was, like a child, eager to im- 
prove every moment of it. 

The songs he had once delighted in would have irri- 
tated him at that moment when his heart was reaching 
out after divine things. Nina recognized his desire, and 
the words which she sang were suited to his needs. 

With her head resting on the high back of the rocker, 
with her hands clasped in her lap, and her eyes gazing 
out of the open window to the gray sky and the blue 
line of distant mountains, Nina sang : 

Jesus, lover of my soul, 

Let me to thy bosom fly. 

There was something in her attitude — the clasped 
hands, the serene beauty of her face in its girlish loveli- 
ness, with its crown of golden hair — that called to the sick 
man’s mind the fair, girl-mother of the holy babe, whose 
cradle was a manger. How he had scoffed at that story ; 
impossible it had once seemed; but the eye of faith now 
saw nothing improbable in the story of our Saviour’s 
birth. God, who had created the world, could change the 
laws of that creation, if he chose. 

Without a pause, when the hymn was finished, Nina’s 
voice passed from the glad assurance of that acknowl- 


184 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


edgment of divine strength, to the triumphant beauty of 
those soul-inspiring words : 

Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Then low, and sweet as summer’s balmiest breezes, 
came the tender, touching melody, thrilled with reveren- 
tial love : 

I love to tell the story. 

And when the last note trembled and died away on 
the air, she paused, thinking that the glad thanksgiving 
of her heart had tired him. 

“ It is like a foretaste of heaven, darling,” he said. 
“How much I have missed in life! I think I can sleep 
again, now.” 

Nina drew the curtains over the window, smoothed his 
pillow, and quietly followed Dr. Gordon into the hall. 

“ Oh, Dr. Gordon, I am almost too happy to live,” she 
cried, clasping her hands over her heart. “ My heart 
aches with its joy. God has answered my prayer, and I 
am ashamed, when I remember that I had so little faith 
when I prayed for grandpapa’s conversion. Oh, I must 
go and thank him.” 

“ The dear child,” thought Dr. Gordon, when she had 
entered her little room, and had closed the door between 
them. “She has been thanking God every moment. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


185 


since she learned the ‘ glad tidings.’ Oh, for such faith 
as hers. I do not wonder that answers to her prayers 
come direct from the Father.” 

The next day, Colonel Chester was so much better and 
stronger in every way, that Dr. Gordon said he gained 
strength like a young man. 

“ The object of my sickness has been accomplished,” 
he said, with a smile, “and now that God needs my 
strength it will be restored to me.” 

“ I have something more palatable than beef-tea for 
your dinner,” said Nina, approaching the bed with a tray, 
from which arose the faint aroma of appetizing food. 

“ It won’t harm you in the least. Dr. Gordon said so,” 
she explained, in answer to his look of inquiry. 

“ I was not thinking of that,” he replied, as she put 
the first morsel between his lips. “I was wondering 
what spell of enchantment is upon the place. The 
food prepared here, before I was too sick to eat, was 
nauseating in the extreme, and this is simply delicious.” 

“ The good fairy is feeding you at this moment,” said 
Dr. Gordon, laughing. “She has just been trying the 
new oil stove, that reached us, not an hour ago.” 

“You don’t mean to say that Nina prepared my din- 
ner ? ” asked Colonel Chester. 

“Yes, I do. She is a real treasure. You have no idea 
how useful she is,” replied Dr. Gordon. 


186 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ But I never could have done it, if it had not been 
for Dr. Gordon,” said Nina, quickly. He suggested the 
oil-stove, and the dining-room. Oh, grandpapa, you 
would have died, if it had not been for his care.” 

“ It was God’s purpose that I should be with you at 
this time,” said Dr. Gordon, calmly. “ It was by mere 
accident that I was delayed at this place the day you 
were taken sick. We cannot understand ‘God’s ways,’ 
but we know that they are for our good ; and I believe 
that his wisdom in detaining me here will reveal itself 
in the happiness of all concerned.” 

“ I thought you were the physician of this place,” said 
Colonel Chester, “ whom Nina had employed to attend 
me ; but I remember that there is no resident physician 
here.” 

“ I have not practiced medicine for some time,” re- 
turned the doctor, “ but I do not think your case could 
have been better handled.” 

“ I am sure not,” said Colonel Chester, gratefully. 
“ You have been a friend in need, and I shall not forget 
it.” 

Later in the day, while Nina sat reading to Grandpapa 
Chester from the little Bible Elder Williams had given 
her. Dr. Gordon entered the room, bearing a small, mys- 
terious bundle in his arms. The bundle gave unmistak- 
able evidence of life ; and Nina asked, curiously : 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


187 


“ What have you there, Dr. Gordon?’’ 

“ Something for you, if you care to keep it, and if 
Grandpapa Chester does not object,” he replied, with a 
smile. “ Something to cheer up your loneliness while 
here.” 

He laid the bundle on her lap, and when she had 
assisted the squirming atom to liberate itself from the 
blanket which enveloped it, a tiny Mexican dog bounced 
up, put both forepaws on her shoulder, and kissed her 
most affectionately. 

“ Oh, you darling little beauty ! ” she exclaimed, raptur- 
ously. “ Where did you get him. Dr. Gordon ? How 
old is he? What is his name? And, oh, are you sure 
that I may keep him? See, he loves me already.” 

“ He is nobody’s dog, unless you choose to adopt him,” 
replied Dr. Gordon. “ He is a fine dog, and a valuable 
one ; but the people here do not care for fine dogs. It 
has been more than two weeks since he was lost from 
one of the trains going West. I have had an eye on 
him ever since; and to-day, the telegraph operator said 
he wished I would take the little fellow, because he is far 
too sensative for the ill-usage of common dogs; and as no 
one has telegraphed for him by this time, he is at liberty 
to dispose of him, in any way he chooses.” 

“Adopt him! indeed I will, if grandpapa does not 
object. See his eyes twinkle just like stars; and look at 


188 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


his shaggy coat of black and white. His ears are like 
the softest of silk. Oh, grandpapa ! ” 

She glanced up wistfully, and, at the same time, hugged 
the “ wee doo^orie ” in her arms. 

OO 

“ Do you think I could refuse you anything when you 
say ‘Oh, grandpapa! ’ in that way?” he asked, fondly. 

“ I knew you would let me keep him. Why, he is a 
perfect prince among dogs.” 

At the word prince, the little dog pricked up his ears, 
and gave a quick, joyful bark, as though the name was 
not altogether strange. 

“I believe it is his name,” said Nina. “And it just 
suits him. So I will call him Prince. Now, when I take 
my ‘ medicine walk ’ in the mornings, I shall have com- 
pany. Oh, Prince I such romps as we shall have among 
these gray old rocks I ” 

From that time forth, little Prince and Nina were 
inseparable ; and in a short time he became as great a 
pet with Colonel Chester as with his granddaughter. 

The old man watched the young girl with fond glance, 
as she moved about the room, putting it to rights, or 
devising new schemes for his comfort. He had loved her 
before ; her face always reminded him of that dear face 
which for years had formed a part of his very life — the 
face of his wife, Nina’s grandmother ; but during those 
days of convalescence, when he looked into those sweet 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


189 


eyes, filled with thoughtful tenderness, and anxious solici- 
tude, it seemed to him he possessed in her a treasure 
beyond comparison. 

Just at this time, there came a letter from his sister, 
Mrs. Kandall — the first she had been able to write since 
her illness. The sight of her handwriting gave him 
great satisfaction and happiness. 

Dr. Gordon was with them, as usual, when the letter 
arrived, and Nina drew it from its envelope to read it 
aloud to her grandfather. He rose to leave the room, 
but Colonel Chester motioned him to resume his seat. 

“ Do not go. Dr. Gordon,” he said. “ You are one of 
us, and I am sure you will be pleased to hear from our 
home, of which we have so often told you. You seem 
quite like a son to me. I am certain I could not have 
loved my own boys more, had it pleased God to spare 
their lives to comfort my old age.” 

“ Thank you. Colonel Chester,” replied Dr. Gordon, 
feelingly. “ Your words afford me the greatest pleasure. 
I assure you that there is but one other on earth whose 
good opinion I value more than yours.” 

“You have mine, at any rale,” returned Colonel 
Chester, with a smile; “and when I return home, I shall 
want you to accompany me, and form the acquaintance 
of the rest of my family.” 

“ That will hardly be possible, as I shall be obliged to 


190 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


go to El Paso when you no longer need me,” he said, 
almost sadly. 

“True. I seemed to have forgotten that you have 
other ties in life, and that you do not in reality belong to 
us. I have never heard you speak of your home ; whereas 
Nina and I have continually rung the praises of ours in 
your ears.” 

“And, I assure you, you could not choose a more 
agreeable topic,” replied Dr. Gordon, sincerely. “ I 
hope, some time, to visit your home.” 

“Just as soon as ever the business in El Paso is com- 
pleted ? ” said Nina, entreatingly. “ I know that Aunt 
Mary and Florence will be so anxious to make your 
acquaintance, when we have told them all that you have 
been to us. I have written about you ; but I have not 
told them half of your kindness.” 

“ You overestimate it, Nina ; and you will lead them 
to expect a paragon. I shall scarcely dare to come at 
all, if you lead them to expect so much ; for I know they 
will be disappointed,” he said, a shadow deepening in his 
eyes as he spoke. 

She shook her head merrily, flashed a confident glance 
at him, and drew Aunt Mary’s letter from its envelope. 

“ I am so glad that Aunt Mary is getting better,” she 
said, as she unfolded the letter. “ All of our good things 
are coming at once, just as all of our disasters did.” 


CHAPTER XIL 


DR. Gordon’s secret. 

T AM feeling much stronger to-day,” Aunt Mary’s 
letter began, “and I am going to use ray first 
strength in writing to you. I know, from Nina’s sprightly 
letters home, that Richard’s daughter is proving herself 
to be a dear little woman, and is justifying all our best 
anticipations of her. In fact, I expected much from 
Nina — but Florence ! Oh, brother Andrew ! you do not 
know what a jewel you have in her. She is a perfect 
contradiction of her former self, a noble girl whom you 
will be proud to own ” 

“Read that over, Nina,” exclaimed Colonel Chester, 
interrupting her. “She must be mistaken in Florrie. 
Why, the child never gave a thought to any one’s com- 
fort but her own. What can Mary mean? ” 

“ I am sure she means all that her words imply,” said 
Nina, quickly. “ Florrie was so gentle and helpful before 
I came away. Oh, grandpapa ! the love of God sweeps all 
the accumulations of selfishness and slothfulness from the 
human heart.” 

“ But what does Florrie know of God ? ” he ques- 

191 


192 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


tioned, in amazement. “ The thought has lain very heavy 
on my heart during the last few days, that my sin in 
refusing to acknowledge my Maker would injure her.” 

Grandpapa, you forget that he who kept you from 
destroying my little Bible, and made it a blessing to you, 
can also bring others to himself,” said Nina. That day, 
when we had our reading, and I was feeling so badly 
over the result of it, not knowing that those results 
would be greater than I dared to hope for. Aunt Mary 
and Florence both decided to get Bibles of their own, 
and read the story for themselves.” 

“ And did they ? ” asked Colonel Chester. 

“Yes, they each bought a Bible in secret, and read 
them in secret. But our afflictions have drawn us all 
closer together ; and Florrie confessed this to me before 
I came away ; and has written since, that she and Aunt 
Mary are reading the Bible story together.” 

“ Strange that any one can doubt the miracles Christ 
performed while on earth, when he is daily performing 
as great ones in our midst,” said Colonel Chester, sol- 
emnly. “He raised the dead to life then, and he has 
done the same for me. I was dead, and he said ‘ Live.* 
And now I live in him. Not only this, but every circum- 
stance of my life is viewed in a different light now. My 
sickness, which would once have seemed a great calamity, 
has proved to be a blessing to all of us. I do not regret 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


193 


the loss of my money as I did before, since all these 
things might not have happened but for that. Fifteen 
thousand dollars is not a great price to pay for the peace 
and happiness which fills my soul to-day. I only regret 
the manner in which it was lost, and I cannot now see 
how God will lift that shadow from our hearts ; but I 
have faith to believe that he will do so.” 

Colonel Chester seemed to have forgotten the presence 
of others in his low-spoken meditations. He forgot that 
a stranger w’as present; and that Nina did not know 
whom he suspected of that robbery. 

“ But read the rest of Aunt Mary’s letter, dear,” he 
continued, arousing from his reverie. 

“She has developed into a sweet, capable woman,” 
Aunt Mary’s letter continued. “ She stepped into Nina’s 
place as naturally as though it cost her no effort to do 
so ; and yet, I know, that it was far more diflicult for her 
than for Nina, who has been accustomed to those things. 
Nina wrote home the glad tidings of your new-found 
joy, Andrew, or I would not write these things to you ; 
but, it seems that God’s Spirit has been working within 
us all at the same time. It is this which assists Florence 
in her hard task. Faith in God seems to have purified 
her heart, sweetened her disposition, and made her a 
gentle, tender, thoughtful girl, whom you will love more 
than ever.” 


194 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“And to think that I have blindly fought against my 
own best happiness and hers, all these years,” said Col- 
onel Chester, unsteadily, while the tears chased each other 
down his cheeks. “If it takes all I am worth to make 
good ray loss, I shall not be unhappy with two such lov- 
ing girls to brighten up my home for me.” 

“ If it were not for the shadow on my heart,” Nina 
read from the letter, “I could be very happy. Oh, 
brother, I long for your return, because I believe your 
suspicions are unjust. The more I think of that night, 
the more certain I am of this.” 

“What does she mean, grandpapa?” asked Nina, look- 
ing up from the letter, inquiringly. 

“ Never mind, dear. I do not think she meant you to 
read her letter ; so you may hand it to me.” 

She handed him the* letter, and, turning to leave the 
room, in order to attend to some household cares, her 
eyes met Dr. Gordon’s; and again that strange feeling, 
which had come to her when she stepped off from the 
cars at Lester, swept over her. 

“ Dr. Gordon,” she said, in a low, earnest voice, “ where 
have I seen you before ? ” 

Colonel Chester was intent on reading his letter, and 
did not hear her question, or see him motion her into the 
hall. 

“Sometimes,” said Nina, when they were alone, “you 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


195 


have a strange look on your face, and then it seems to 
me that I must have seen you somewhere, before I met 
you here.” 

Nina,” he said, “ I am in great trouble. I do not 
know that you can help me; but I am strangely im- 
pressed to tell you about myself. Do you think you can 
keep my secret, if it is necessary ? ” 

“Yes, I can,” replied Nina, earnestly; “and if I can 
help you in any way, I shall be glad to do it.” 

“ Perhaps it is useless,” he replied, thoughtfully. Then, 
after a moment’s silent thought, he added : 

“ I have told you something about my past life, Nina. 
That I wms a drunkard. And of all wretched, despica- 
ble beings on earth, a helpless, hopeless drunkard is the 
most degraded. He feels his degradation, but is helpless 
to better his condition; and, unless God interferes for his 
safety, he is lost. But sometimes, as in my own case, 
God’s very interference is a terrible blow. Desperate 
cases require severe remedies, and I — oh, Nina, child, you 
will not hate me when I tell you that I did not reform 
until I had first been the means of blighting my home, 
breaking my wife’s heart, and causing the death of the 
fairest little blossom that ever blessed a home with its 
sweet presence ? Do you know your Aunt Mary’s story, 
Nina ? ” he asked. 

“ Yes,” she faltered, “ and it is a sad one.” 


196 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Then you know my story,” he resumed. “ I think you 
must have seen some resemblance to me in Dyke’s face.” 

“ Oh, you do not mean to tell me that you are Dyke’s 
father — Aunt Mary’s husband?” — she cried, quickly. 

“ Hush ! ” he said, cautioning her, “ or he will hear 
you. And I do not want him to know yet.” 

“ You are, indeed,” she said, assuredly. “And you will 
go home with us, and Aunt Mary will be so proud of 
you.” 

“I am not so sure of that,” he said, with a wan smile. 
“ I have done nothing in my life to merit her esteem. 
But much, oh, so much to destroy it. I would not have 
told you this; but something inspires me with a hope 
that if she knew where I am, she might send me one 
word of remembrance.” 

“ I will tell her,” exclaimed Nina. “And I know that 
she will send for you.” 

“ No, child, do not misunderstand me,” he said, firmly. 
“ I could not go to her now, if she should send for me. 
It may be that I can never go to her. There is some- 
thing you do not understand, which may be the means of 
separating us forever ; but if I could know that she does 
not utterly despise me, I could, at least, endure my exile. 
Because you have learned to love me, and because you 
have seen in me something a little better than she thought 
me capable of ever becoming, I have decided to let you 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


197 


plead my cause with her. But remember to tell her that 
I do not do this with a hope of returning to her again. 
Tell her that I said it could never be until the shadow — 
she will understand — is lifted from my name, which will 
be in God’s own time — for I am not guilty.” 

“If only grandpapa knew. I know he could help 
you. He is so fond of you,” began Nina. But he in- 
terrupted her with : 

“ No, he must not suspect my identity. I should be very 
sorry to have it happen. You are sure you can keep my 
secret, Nina ? ” he asked, gravely. 

“ Yes, sir, if you desire it.” 

“ There is one thing I wish to explain,” he added. 
“ I told you that my name is Gordon, and you might ad- 
dress me as Hr. Gordon. The name is my own, and, as 
such, I have a right to use it. My full name is Joseph 
Gordon Eandall. Colonel Chester had good reasons for 
disliking me, on account of my treatment of his sister, 
and I did not care that he, or you, should recognize me 
until I had made a better record for myself than that by 
which I was known.” 

“ Surely you may tell him now,” said Nina, in a plead- 
ing tone. 

“ I might, only that something has happened since ; or 
rather, 1 have learned something, which prevents my 
doing so. No, Nina, I cannot reveal myself to him ; and 


198 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


I suppose the brave way — perhaps the better way — would 
have been to have gone away in silence. I had fully in- 
tended doing so until I heard your aunt’s letter; but 
something in it bids me hope that she will be glad to 
hear from me, and to know that I am trying to build a 
new manhood out of the wreck of the old.” 

“ I will tell her all I know about you, and I know only 
what is good,” said Nina. And her busy brain began to 
plan how she would tell Aunt Mary of his kindness, his 
tenderness, his loving care for her, and his love for God. 
How she would make Aunt Mary respect him before she 
told her who he was. 

Nina went into her own little room, tied a large apron 
about her slender waist, lit the oil-stove, and began the 
preparation of their noon meal. 

“ Dear Florrie,” she mused, between snatches of happy 
songs. “ How much comfort we shall be to each other 
hereafter ! Aunt Mary is right. Florrie deserves a great 
deal of credit for taking upon herself those unpleasant 
tasks so cheerfully. It must be a great trial for her to 
attend to all household matters, and superintend the cook- 
ing in the hot kitchen ; and yet. Aunt Mary writes, that 
she does not complain. As for me, I delight in those 
things. I l(jve to cook and sweep and dust ; and there is 
no self-denial for me in it.” 

On leaving Nina, Dr. Gordon went for a walk ; and. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 199 

returning before dinner was ready, went into Colonel 
Chester’s room. 

“You must excuse me, Dr. Gordon,” began Colonel 
Chester, when he was seated, “ for interrupting Nina and 
taking the letter from her. I was fearful that my sister 
was about to reveal a secret. Poor Mary ! ” he added, 
meditatively. “ She has had a most unhappy life.” 

Dr. Gordon did not reply, and Colonel Chester con- 
tinued : 

“ Nina has told you about the money stolen from me on 
Christmas night ? ” 

“ Yes, she said that she saw the man who robbed you 
near the live oak tree in the evening. Did you make an 
attempt to have him arrested ? ” 

“Yes, but after I had talked the matter over with my 
sister, I withdrew my charge. I will tell you, though I 
do not want Nina to know ; my sister knew the man, and 
for her sake I decided not to punish him.” 

“Is that right; is it just?” asked Dr. Gordon, with 
deep feeling. “You may have condemned an innocent 
man, and by your silence you place it beyond his power 
to prove his innocence. Why do you not arrest him, and 
let him tell his story ? ” 

“Because I am certain of his guilt. I am somewhat 
acquainted with the history of the man I suspect. A 
man who would rob his wife and children, in order to 


200 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


satisfy his thirst for strong drink, would not hesitate to 
steal from another, if an opportunity were offered.” 

Dr. Gordon’s sensitive face flushed hotly. 

“ To arrest him would only make his guilt a public 
matter, whereas it is now known only to myself and my 
sister.” 

“ But if he is guilty, he deserves this.” 

“ It is not for his sake I hesitate, but for the sake of 
others. Innocent ones would then be obliged to bear the 
burden of his sin.” 

“ On the other hand, if he is not guilty, you are doing 
him a great injustice, a great wrong,” urged Dr. Gordon. 

“ But I tell you he is guilty. I am satisfied of this,” 
replied Colonel Chester, with something of his old stub- 
born assurance in his tones. “ I have no doubt whatever 
of his guilt, and I much prefer to suffer the loss — though 
I assure you it is no small matter at present — to making 
the affair public. 

Dr. Gordon sighed, and Nina, coming in at that mo- 
ment with the server, upon which Grandpapa Chester’s 
food was laid in tempting array, with a bouquet of scarlet 
and yellow cactus blossoms, interrupted the conversation. 

“ The brakeman brought them to me,” she said. “ See 
this small one, like a pale, pink star, and these larger, 
more gorgeous blossoms. They are so beautiful — only 
one must admire them at a distance. They will not 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


201 


allow themselves to be touched. He brought them in a. 
basket, and told me that he would advise me to handle 
them with a fork ; which I did when I arranged them.” 

“ They are very pretty,” said Colonel Chester, “ and 
seem doubly so in this desolate wilderness ; but they are 
also very treacherous, and you must be exceedingly care- 
ful, or you will have your fingers full of thistles.” 

“ I shall guard against that ” — and Nina laughed mer- 
rily, placing the tip of her nose as close to the flowers as 
prudence would admit. “ Nothing but beauty, and that 
is guarded by thistles,” she said, with disappointment. 
“ They have no fragrance.” 

“ Like many a beautiful face, which, lacking more de- 
sirable qualities of beauty in heart and mind, soon loses 
its attraction for us,” said Dr. Gordon. 

“ They set the rugged old mountains all aflame with 
gorgeous tints ; but, like the mountains, are appreciated 
most when viewed at a respectful distance,” said Nina, 
laughing. “ I believe they breathe out thistles ; for see, I 
have one in my thumb, and I have been so careful not to 
touch them.” 

“ I think I shall be able to go home soon, shall I not, 
doctor ? ” Colonel Chester asked, after eating heartily of 
the food Nina had brought him. 

Dr. Gordon smiled. 

“ Yes ; very soon, if your appetite continues good. 


202 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


I think I never saw any one gain faster than you 
have.” 

“ I want to be at home; but I don’t see how I can ever 
reconcile myself to Aunt Dinah’s cooking again, after 
this,” said Colonel Chester, raising a spoonful of delicious 
apple-float ” to his lips. 

“And you never shall, if you can persuade her to 
admit me to the kitchen each day, long enough to pre- 
pare some of these dainties with which to * tickle your 
palate,’ ” replied Nina. “ I don’t believe that Aunt 
Dinah could learn to make ‘ angel’s food.’ ” 

“ Is that what you have been feeding us ? ” asked Dr. 
Gordon. “I am not surprised that Colonel Chester 
relishes it, just coming back, as he is, from the border- 
land ; but that a great, strong man, like myself, can 
thrive on such an ethereal mixture, is astonishing; and I 
do think, there’s no mistake about it. I have gained 
several pounds since you put me on this celestial diet.” 

“ Oh, but I have given you plenty of meat and pota- 
toes, beside,” returned Nina. 

Later in the evening, when the tea things had been 
put away, and the room set in order for the night, and 
while — the evening being chilly — they were sitting 
around the fire in Colonel Chester’s room, Nina asked : 

“ Grandpapa, at Christmas time, had you begun to be 
sorry that you had taken my Biblfe from me ? ” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


203 


“ No, indeed. I felt, at that time, as if I would like 
to have you forget that you had ever read that Bible 
story. I had become so infatuated with the ideas of 
those who deride the Bible story, that I was grieved to 
think it had taken such a hold upon your imagination. 
I thought, at that time, that it was imagination more 
than real heart-worship ; that your early education was 
wholly at fault. I soon learned my mistake, and dis- 
covered that I had a graver task on my hands than I 
anticipated ; but not knowing of God, and the power of 
his love in the human heart, I then attributed your firm- 
ness to stubborness. I now ask your forgiveness for all 
I made you sufier, Nina.” 

She sprang to his side, in her bright, impulsive way, 
and dropped her forgiveness in warm kisses upon his face. 

“But I cannot understand it all,” she said, em- 
phatically. 

“ Understand what, dear ? ” 

“Why, you remember, you gave me ‘Ben Hur’ for 
my Christmas ? ” 

“ Yes. I heard you express a wish for the book.” 

“And yet, you took away my Bible,” said Nina. 
“ Grandpapa,” she added, “ do you know what the story 
of ‘Ben Hur’ is?” 

% 

“ No. I had no time to examine it ; but I had suf- 
ficient confidence in you to believe that you would not 


204 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


desire to read anything except good books. Aside from 
this, an acquaintance of mine remarked to me, that it 
was just the kind of book he would like his daughter to 
read.” 

“And you did not look at it? You did not know?” 
questioned Nina. “ Don’t you remember that, after you 
had given it to me, I got especial permission from you to 
read it?” 

“ Yes. I thought it was probably a novel of a high 
order, and that you were fearful I might not approve of 
it. What was the book about, Nina ? ” 

“ It, was as you say, a novel, grandpapa — a beautiful 
novel ; but it was more than this, as you would have dis- 
covered if you had read so much as the title page. It is 
called ‘ A Tale of the Christ,’ and contains beautiful de- 
scriptions of people and places.” 

“ Nina,” said Colonel Chester, gravely, “ I did not 
know this. It was God’s work, and not mine. He has 
been over-ruling the events of the past few weeks. I can 
see his power through it all. At tlie very time my re- 
bellion against him was at its height, he made use of me 
to accomplish his work, and advance his cause.” 


CHAPTER XIV. 


WHAT FLORENCE FOUND. 



YOUNG girl, with a large apron tied about her 


slim waist, was dusting the parlors at the Chester 
homestead. Her pretty face had a tired look, and her 
blue eyes were heavy with unshed tears. 

“ I don’t see how I ever lived all these years without 
Nina,” she mused, throwing open the window, to let in 
the balmy fragrance of the sweet spring air. It lifted 
her yellow hair, and tossed it back from her tired, flushed 
face. There was something so gentle and soothing in 
its touch, that she stood still for a moment, and let it 
play with her hair. 

Dear Nina ; sweet sister,” her thoughts continued. 
“ How I have learned to love you, since you came to us, 
like a shy, sweet, woodland flower, that you were! How 
you have lifted my thoughts and desires from self and in- 
dolence into a higher, purer atmosphere. I am better for 
having known you.” 

A mocking-bird rested his wing on a branch of the 
China tree near the window where Florence stood, and 
eyed her with curious inquisitiveness for a moment; then. 


205 


206 


THE CHESTER GIRI^. 


tipping his head on one side, sent forth a flood of melody 
from his clear, sweet throat, which thrilled her lonely 
heart, as song of bird had never done before. 

“ Oh, Father, who hast made the world so rich in 
beauty and fragrance, and song, help me to become more 
worthy of thy bountiful gifts,” she whispered, looking 
past the ‘ Southern nightingale,’ in his coat of sober gray, 
to where the sky’s blue curtain hung, like protecting 
angel pinions over all the earth. 

There was a stir in the yard outside ; the sound of 
heavy foot-falls in the hall, and a moment later, the dark 
face of Aunt Dinah was thrust in at the door. 

“ Bress de Lawd, Miss Florrie. I’se back ag’in, I is. 
Seem like when ’flictions ’gin ter come, dey don’t hold 
back fo’ nobody nor nuffin.’ But dar’s a break in de 
cloud now, honey, an’ I reckon as how dar’ll be a spell o’ 
pleasant weather.” 

“ I am so glad to see you back again,” said Florence, 
falteringly. 

“ I reckon yo’ is, chile,” replied Aunt Dinah, compla- 
cently, wiping the dust from her shoes with her handker- 
chief. “ Dat good-fo’-noffin fool nigger, Lize, starve yo’ 
to deff*, I reckon. Now yo’ jes’ fix you mouf for some- 
thin’ good fo’ dinner — sweet potatoes b’iled in ’lasses, an’ 
waffles, an’ — w^ell, you’ll tink Aunt Dinah’s got home fo’ 
sure when yo’ gwine ter eat.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


207 


She waddled out of the parlor in self-important haste, 
and Florence resumed her dusting. 

“ I do hope, as Aunt Dinah says, there’s to be a spell 
of pleasant weather, now that we have passed through a 
siege of affliction,” she soliloquized, moving the duster 
more briskly, as her spirits became more buoyant with 
the comforting assurance of Aunt Dinah’s return, and 
the lifting of unaccustomed cares from her own shoul- 
ders. 

Her despondency seemed to have vanished as if by 
magic ; and she echoed the songster’s melody with notes 
as joyous as his own. 

“ Aunt Mary is so much better, that she will soon be 
able to come down to the parlors ; and Nina writes that 
grandpapa will be able to come home in a few days. 
What a glad reunion it will be ! I should like to see the 
kind gentleman Nina writes so much about. I wish he 
would come with them. The most wonderful piece of 
news of all is grandpapa’s conversion. Nina writes that 
he believes in God. It does not seem possible to me; 
and yet, when I remember ‘ that all things are possible 
with God,’ I ought not to be surprised at this. 

“ How much dear grandpapa must love Nina, for being 
so brave in going to him, and caring for him, when he 
needed her loving devotion so much ; and how he must 
despise my cowardice in remaining in safety ! I wish, oh ! 


208 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


how I do wish that God would let me do something for 
him, just to prove that I love him too. 

She did not seem to recognize the value of those kindly, 
unselfish acts of hers, when, in another way, she had been 
doing quite as much for grandpapa as Nina. She felt 
that she wanted to be of personal assistance to him. 

“ Nina saved his life,” her thoughts continued ; “ and if 
I might only do something to make that life brighter and 
happier, I should be satisfied. I can best do this by loving 
devotion to him, by trying to become more like Nina; 
and, with God’s help, I will try to cultivate those qual- 
ities of heart and mind which will endear me to him.” 

She had reached the fire-place in the library, in her 
process of dusting, by this time, and resumed her task 
with renewed energy. 

The front of the fire-place was made of tiles nicely 
fitted together ; each one painted in some pretty design, 
the work of Florence’s father in his boyhood. These were 
the Spanish Missions, sketches of scenery along the San 
Antonio River, Texas birds and blossoms — all painted 
by his brush in the long ago. 

Many a time in the past, when Florence’s heart had 
longed for a parent’s affection, she had spent long hour^ 
gazing at those amateur paintings, and wondering what 
her father would have been like if he had lived. She 
was not thinking of him or of the pictures now; her 


f 




f. 



I ' • 




. i 


f*». 



* V. 




♦ 


« 


« • 


h 




r 


I 


4 r* 

■'f 

• 

0 

m, 

1 

I 

I 

# 


• • 

t 

« 

\, 

— ■*■ 

‘i."- ■ 

♦ 

t % 








4 




ft 



4 









« 


A J/ 


1 ^’ 


4 * 


# 



> 


9 



4 

I 



# 

4 % » . 

1 
I 



I 


>* 



t 

kT 


$ 



Chester Girls 


Page 209, 





THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


209 


whole mind was absorbed iu the joyful anticipation of 
the family reunion which would take place, as soon as 
Grandpapa Chester was able to return home. 

Back and forth, up and down, right and left, she sent 
the duster, with rapid movements. Whisking it about, 
it struck against one of the tiles, which had become 
loosened, and dropping from its place, it fell to the floor. 

She stooped to pick it up. 

“Ah!’’ she said, “ this must be fixed, or it will get 
broken by falling on the hard marble hearth.” 

Fitting it in the place from which it had fallen, she 
tried to push it back even with the rest ; but it refused to 
obey her.- Taking it out again she looked into the open- 
ing to discover why the tile would not fit, and she saw 
what resembled a folded piece of paper pressed against 
the background, and flattened as if the tile had been 
pushed firmly against it. 

“ What can it be ? ” thought Florence, drawing it out 
of its hiding place, “ and who could have put it there ? ” 

The room was not very light, and she replaced the tile, 
intending to take the paper to the window for exami- 
nation. 

“ It must have been put there to hold the tile more 
securely in its place,” mused Florence. “ It fits so loosely 
without the paper that I shall have to put it back again.” 

She was about to do this, when something peculiar in 

O 


210 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


the appearance of the paper caused her to examine it 
more closely. 

She turned toward the window, unfolded the paper, 
and then the paintings on the walls seemed to join hands 
and dance about in a most fantastic manner. Grand- 
mamma Chester’s picture, painted in her girlhood, 
laughed at her, nodded its head merrily, and became 
strangely mixed up with the yellow-haired boys on either 
side of it. A queer, suffocating sensation clutched at 
Florence’s throat, and her heart beat wdth loud, heavy 
throbs, like a blacksmith’s hammer on his iron anvil. 

She sank into a chair, dizzy and faint. The mocking- 
bird flew from the China tree to the window-sill, and re- 
newed his song ; the sunshine lay in a long, bright line 
across the carpet; the breeze fluttered the curtains, and 
lifted her yellow hair from her heated brow ; a faint odor 
of roses came to her, mingled with the sweet fragrance 
of China-blooms, which hung in abundance from the 
tree outside. All these things had been the same before ; 
but, oh, how changed they all seemed now ! The bird’s 
song was clearer, with a glad, triumphant shout in its 
swelling notes. The sun seemed warmer and brighter; 
the perfume still sweeter; and Florence’s heart was 
nearly bursting with joyous thanksgiving. 

“It is grandpapa’s lost money; and God has let me 
find it for him,” she said, in a hushed voice. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


211 


In that moment she did not question why the money 
had been hidden back of the tile, or how it came to be 
there ; but, remembering that she had asked God to let 
her contribute to the happiness of the life which Nina’s 
care had saved, she accepted this as a direct answer to 
that prayer. 

‘‘ I have found it, found it all,” she said, counting it 
over. “ Not a dollar of it is missing ; but what shall I 
do with it until grandpapa comes ? ” 

Mrs. Randall sat by the low, open window in her room. 
She had been listening to the same happy notes from the 
little songster in the China-tree by the library window, 
which had attracted Florence’s attention. An open Bible 
lay in her lap. She had been reading some of those blessed 
passages of Scripture which have been such a source of 
comfort and consolation to tired hearts through all the 
years since Christ was on earth. She was as a child in 
her new-found hope, reaching up through the ruin and 
desolation of her happy dreams — through the darkness 
and the gloom which lay heavy on her heart ; she had 
touched God’s hand in that darkness, and a thrill of his 
infinite love had come to her like a ray of light through 
the shadows which surrounded her. 

She was too weak for deep research ; too worn with 
tears and heartaches for conflicting doubts and question- 
ings. It was enough for her just to believe. As a little 


212 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


babe is first fed upon milk before it can retain stronger 
food, so she now rested in her belief, and her glad hope 
in a povver strong to save. 

The shadows still lay, dark and brooding, upon her 
heart. She did not know how God would lift them. 
She had no past experience of divine things, answered 
prayers, or fulfilled promises, by which to judge the 
future; she only waited, wondering how the tangled web 
of her life would be made straight, but trusting in God, 
with the simple faith of a child. 

“ How beautifully the bird sings ! ” she mused. “ It 
seems like a voice from heaven, speaking peace to my 
troubled heart.’’ 

She heard Florence’s step on the stair and in the hall. 
She had learned to recognize that light foot-fall, and to 
love its very echoes. 

“ She is all my sweet little Blossom might have been, 
had she lived,” she thought, as she turned to greet 
Florence. 

Florence came to her side quickly, impetuously, more 
like Nina than her quiet self, and kneeling at Aunt 
Mary’s feet, cried out : 

‘‘ I have found it, Aunt Mary, I — oh, is not God good 
to let me find it ? ” 

“ Found what, child? I do not understand.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 213 

“ This — see ! ” And Florence placed the package of 
bills in Mrs. Randall’s hands. 

“ What is it, Florence ? ” 

“ The fifteen thousand dollars that grandpapa thought 
had been stolen from him.” 

Aunt Mary’s face grew white — so white that Florence 
thought she was going to faint; but she recovered at 
once. 

“Are you sure ? ” she asked, tremulously. “ Oh, Florrie, 
this means so much to me. Where did you find it ? ” 

Then Florence explained. 

“ How do you suppose it came there ? ” asked Aunt 
Mary. 

“ I cannot imagine,” said Florence, “ unless the robber 
became conscience smitten and returned it.” 

“ That cannot be the way,” replied Aunt Mary. “If 
he had returned it, he would scarcely have hidden it in 
a place where it could not be found except by accident. 
Besides, to have hidden it there he must first have gained 
access to the house ; and how could a stranger know of 
the loosened tile, which even you knew nothing of until 
to-day? There is a mystery about it which may be 
explained when Andrew returns, and it may never be 
explained. Oh, Florence, the finding of this money has 
lifted the heaviest shadow from my heart.” 

“ And mine too,” said Florence, laughing almost hys- 


214 


THE CHESTEE GIRLS. 


terically. “ There is nothing more to ask for now. Our 
blessings come just as our afflictions did — all at once.”' 

And as if to confirm her statement, little, dark Gipsy 
appeared at the door with a telegram from Colonel 
Chester, or rather from Dr. Gordon, stating that if 
Colonel Chester continued to improve through the day, 
he would start for home in the evening, and desiring 
Jake to meet him at the morning train with the carriage 
and pillows. 

Such a busy day as followed. Florence forgot her 
weariness. 

“ There will be but one night to have the responsibility 
of all that money on my mind,” she thought ; “ and no 
one, except Aunt Mary and myself, know that we have 
found it. I think there will be no danger of losing it 
again.” 

“ You must wait until your grandfather is well rested 
from his journey, before you speak of the money, dear,” 
said Mrs. Randall, with cautious solicitude, seeing that 
Florence could think of nothing else but the recovered 
treasure, and the pleasure it would afford her to restore it 
to grandpapa’s own hands. 

“ I will guard my tongue well, Aunt Mary,” she re- 
plied ; “ but I am sure that my heart will shout it to him, 
and my eyes will telegraph it to him, every time I look 
at his dear face.” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


215 


There was a jubilee in the kitchen, as well as in the 
parlor, when the “ good news ” was made known, that 
Colonel Chester and Miss Nina would return home in the 
morning. 

“ Yo’ Lize, yo’ jis’ get out ob here. Yo’ nebber was 
made fo’ to ointment a kitchen, no how,” cried Aunt 
Dinah, consequentially, the moment she had been in- 
formed of Colonel Chester’s return. Yo’ ’longs in de 
cotton-fiel’. Ef yo’ wants ter help, yo’ ken scrub de 
galleries. As fo’ de cookin’, do you s’pos’n dat my ole 
massa could eat a moufful ob vittals what Aunt Dinah 
hadn’t cooked? I jes’ got home in de nick ob time, I 
did.” 

Lize, in her turn, ordered Gipsy about ; and Gipsy 
spent a good share of her time in practicing handsprings 
down the smooth garden walk. 

Florence was very tired, and very happy when, in the 
evening, she drew an ottoman close to Aunt Mary’s chair, 
that she might sit there, and “ talk it all over with her.” 

When the first pink flush of the new day was making 
rosy the eastern sky, Florence awoke, and at once sprang 
out of bed. She had no memory of rising at so early an 
hour in all her life before. Her very blood seemed to 
tingle and thrill with the glad anticipations of what this 
“ new day ” was to bring her. 

After making a careful toilet, she ran down to assist 


216 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Aunt Mary at hers, and to see if there were not some 
“ finishing touches ” required in the parlors. Seeing that 
everything was in perfect order, she called Gipsy, and 
went out to gather flowers, with which to decorate the 
tables and mantles. 

It was near the last of March, and the roses were 
blooming in rare abundance. There would be no lack 
of flowers for her floral decorations ; and in a short time 
she had completed the task to her entire satisfaction. 

She had just placed a mammoth bouquet of Mareschal 
Neil roses on the long, white dining-table, when Jake 
came to inform her : “ Dat de kerrage am a-waitin’; ” and 
she ran up to her room for her hat and gloves. 

On reaching the carriage, she found Aunt Dinah filling 
it with snowy mountains of pillows. 

“ There will not be room for grandpapa, if you put so 
many pillows in,” she remonstrated, taking out several of 
them, and keeping only two. 

As they turned on to Avenue D, they heard the bell 
of the in-coming train; and Jake, “ touching up” the 
horses, ran a race with it, arriving at the station a moment 
in advance of it. 

Another moment (at least, it seemed no longer), and 
Florence had kissed Nina and grandpapa, and Jake had 
stowed them all away in the carriage ; and, mounting his 
seat in front, was driving toward home again. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


217 


“ You look so thin, grandpapa,” said Florence, giving 
his hand a fond little squeeze between her own. “ Are 
you very tired ? ” 

“ Not very, dear. I am much stronger than I thought. 
The very breath of home seems to strengthen me.” 

They had prepared a couch for him in the pleasant 
back parlor, and Jake’s strong arms steadied his master’s 
faltering footsteps. 

Aunt Dinah brought his breakfast to him, and tossed 
her head as “ proud as any queen ” to see him eat with 
such a relish. 

“ It’s mighty fortunate fo’ Massa Chestah dat I ’ribe at 
home in time fo’ to suspend de cookin’ ob his vittuals,” 
she remarked, with all the self-importance the case de- 
manded, on taking the empty server back to the kitchen. 

During that first morning at home, Florence and Nina 
had so much to talk over with each other, and so much 
to say to Grandpapa Chester and Aunt Mary, while little 
Prince -was admired so extravagantly, that his naturally 
fine disposition was in great danger of becoming spoiled 
by over-indulgence. And all the time, the two girls were 
each guarding a secret from the other, and from the 
rest, though Aunt Mary shared Florence’s with her. 

The very first moment that Nina had an opportunity 
of speaking with Aunt Mary in private, she began: 

Aunt Mary, I wish — oh, I do wish you could see Dr. 


218 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Gordon. He is a grand, good man, and I am sure you 
could not help loving him.” 

Mrs. Randall smiled, and replied : 

“ I shall always be grateful to him for his kindness to 
brother Andrew, and his loving care for my little girl, 
when alone among strangers in a strange land.” 

“ But devotion like his calls for something more than 
gratitude,” exclaimed Nina, impressively, her voice trem- 
bling in her anxiety to serve her friend. 

Mrs. Randall looked up suddenly, with a grave sus- 
picion in her eyes. 

“ Nina, is he a young man ? ” she asked, quickly — a 
dread foreboding entering her heart. Girls at sixteen 
had loved and married before. Oh! could it be that 
Nina’s interest in this strange doctor was of a serious 
nature ? 

“ He is not old,” replied Nina, the sweet rose-flush of 
enthusiastic girlhood coming and going on her face ; 
“ and he is very handsome. Aunt Mary, with grave, sad 
eyes. He has had such an unhappy past. Oh! if I 
could only make his future bright ! ” 

“ Child, I fear that he has been a dangerous companion 
for you,” cried Aunt Mary, in alarm. 

“ Oh, no. Aunt Mary,” replied Nina, innocently. “ He 
has been a great help to me in many ways. Only think 
of the nights he watched beside grandpapa, and never 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


219 


once allowed me to lose my usual rest! He saw that I 
took long walks out in the open air every day ; and was 
as careful and thoughtful of my health as if 1 had been 
his daughter.” 

Mrs. Randall sighed. 

“ I fear you have learned to care for him, much more 
than you should,” she said, in a troubled voice. 

“No, indeed. Aunt Mary ; one could hardly do that. 
I am quite sure you would love him as well as grandpapa 
and I do, if you could see him now. He is so changed 
— that is — I ” 

Nina paused in confusion. She had nearly forgotten 
that Aunt Mary did not know who Dr. Gordon was. 

Mrs. Randall did not appear as impressed with Dr. 
Gordon’s kindness as Nina desired, and she added, with 
a shade of disappointment in her tones : 

“ You cannot deny that it was very kind in him to 
stay and help us nurse grandpapa.” 

“He may have had a motive in view,” said Aunt 
Mary. “ It may be he hoped to gain something by it.” 

“ Oh, why will you doubt him so ? ” said Nina. “ He 
told me he had no hopes for the future. He said that 
that there was something — he did not say what it was — 
which stood between him and happiness. I think you 
are unjust, Aunt Mary, to suspect him of having a 
motive.” 


220 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Nina,” called Florence from below. “ Where are 
you, Nina?” 

“I am coming,” answered Nina. She hesitated a 
moment, looked at Aunt Mary, wistfully, then kissed her, 
and went to Florence. 

“She is such a child,” mused Mrs. Randall, sadly, 
when she was alone. “ Why did I let her go alone ? As 
soon as Andrew is a little stronger I will tell him my 
fears. It may be that they are groundless, and I will 
try to hope they are ; but why is she so enthusiastic in 
his praises, if she has not learned the sweetest and the 
saddest lesson of life ? ” 

Florence stood at the foot of the stairs waiting for her 
cousin. 

“ Nina,” she said, the moment that Nina had reached 
her, “ I have such an important secret to tell you. I 
cannot wait until after grandpapa’s nap is finished. I 
am to tell him about it then; but Aunt Mary said that 
I might tell you now, and we could enjoy planning to- 
gether the surprise for grandpapa.” 

“ I did not know that you had a secret too, ” said 
Nina, as they walked away to the live-oak tree together. 

“ Have you one, Nina?” questioned Florence. 

“Yes; mine aflfects Aunt Mary, most. Whom will 
your secret afifect ? ” 

“All of us; but grandpapa, most,” replied , Florence. 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


221 


“What is the best thing that could happen just now, 
Nina?” 

“ It seems to me that the best thing that could happen, 
w'ould be to have Uncle Joe Randall return, a reformed, 
Christian man — whom we would all be proud of, and 
especially Aunt Mary and Dyke. Do not you think 
that would be a good ‘ happen,’ Florence ? ” 

“ Yes ; but that is not possible,” replied Florence, a 
little disappointed that Nina had not guessed her secret 
at once. “ I think it would be a better ‘ happen ’ to find 
grandpapa’s lost money.” 

“ But that is also impossible,” said Nina 
“ Is it ? ” said Florence, laughing. “ What if I tell 
you that I did find it for him, back of one of the tiles, in 
the library fire-place ? ” 

“ Did you ! Oh, Florrie, did you ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Florence, brightly, “ and that is the 
secret I am to tell grandpapa when he wakes up from his 


CHAPTER XV. 


FLORENCE RESTORES THE LOST MONEY. 

I T was finished at last — that long, refreshing nap — 
during which Colonel Chester had slept away the 
fatigue of his journey; and he awoke feeling stronger, 
and brighter than since his illness. 

Careful steps and hushed voices had sounded in the 
hall many times while he was asleep ; eyes had peered 
anxiously into the back parlor, watching for the first sign 
of his awakening; and scarcely had his eyes unclosed 
when the girls were both beside him. 

“ I think I will sit up a while now,” he said, his face 
reflecting the joyous brightness of theirs. 

Florence rolled his easy chair to the window. Nina 
brought an ottoman for his feet, and together they assisted 
him to the seat prepared for him. 

“ They had him nicely fixed when Aunt Mary came 
into the room, and took an easy chair near him. Her 
face was still pale with her recent illness ; but her smile 
seemed to have gained a new tenderness during the last 
few weeks. 

Florence had been impatiently awaiting this moment 
222 


THE CHESTEll GIRLS. 


223 


all day ; and now that it had come, with every condition 
favorable for the disclosure of her secret, she did not 
know how to begin. 

“ My home never seemed so dear to me before,” re- 
marked Colonel Chester, gazing out of the window to 
where the deeply shaded river wound along, flashing its 
waters through the foliage of the trees. “ I think it is 
the peace and the glory of God resting on it, which 
makes it so beautiful in my eyes. I had hoped to finish 
my days here, where my dear wife lived, and where our 
boys played.” 

There was a touch of sadness in his tones. 

“ And why may you not do so ? ” asked Mrs. Randall. 

“ I may as well tell you now,” he replied, turning his 
face from the window. “You would have to know it 
very soon, and part of the difficult task will be over 
when I have told you. I cannot repine over my misfor- 
tune, since God has blessed me so abundantly in my two 
girls. We will still have each other, dears; and you 
can be my treasures in another home, as well as here.” 

“ Are you going to sell the dear old home, grand- 
papa ? ” asked Florence, forgetting all else, in her anxiety 
for the only home she had ever known. 

“ I fear it must be,” he replied, sadly. “ I have had a 
good ofier for the place; and, you know, I must raise con- 
siderable money now.” 


224 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Florence and Nina exchanged glances — Aunt Mary 
flashed a smile in Florence’s direction, indicating that 
now was the time to reveal the secret. Florence flushed 
rosily, coughed once or twice ; but did not speak. 

“ I was disappointed in the sale I had hoped to make 
when I went West the last time,” Colonel Chester said. 
“ It was then that I decided to sell the home.” 

“And that decision was what brought about your sick- 
ness,” said Mrs. Randall. 

“Partly, I think,” he replied. “I love the old home 
very dearly, and it will grieve me to part with it.” 

“Grandpapa,” began Florence, in a surprised voice, 
which did not sound like her own. “ Do you know that 
one of the tiles is loose in the library fire-place ? ” 

“Yes, I discovered it on Christmas Day. Just after 
dinner it fell out, and I fully intended to have it fastened 
to its place before this ; but the circumstance had slipped 
my mind completely. I shall feel like taking the whole 
fire-place with me if I must sell the home. Those are the 
only paintings I have of Ralph’s.” 

“ When I was dusting the fire-place yesterday morning, 
the tile fell out,” continued Florence. Her voice had re- 
gained something of its natural tones by this time. 

“ I hope it did not break. I must see that it is prop- 
erly replaced at once,” he said. 

“ No, it did not break ; but when I tried to put it back 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 225 

it would not fit ; and when I looked to see why, I found 
some paper crowded in the place.” 

Colonel Chester turned half around in his chair to look 
at her. Her tones had an under-current of excitement 
which drew his attention. He thought the paper might 
be some of his dead son’s belongings. 

“What were the papers?” he asked. 

“Wait a moment, grandpapa, and I will show you. 

She rose and went out of the room. They did not 
speak while she was gone. Mrs. Randall and Nina did 
not dare to trust their voices, and Colonel Chester had 
turned his attention to the pretty lawn sloping down to 
the river. In the few moments of her absence he had 
quite forgotten the loosened tiles, and the paper she had 
found behind it. He was thinking sadly of the home he 
loved, and how he must soon part with it forever. 

So deeply absorbed had he become in his reverie, that 
he did not notice when Florence returned until her hand 
rested on his shoulder. 

“Grandpapa,” she said, in a low, sweet voice, “you 
do believe in God now ? ” 

“ Yes, dear, with my whole heart. I think that my faith 
is stronger because it came to me late in life.” 

“ You do believe that he can and does answer prayer? ” 

To Nina, who had known both under very different cir- 
cumstances, the question and answer seemed almost unreal. 

P 


226 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ He has heard and answered mine,” replied Colonel 
Chester. “No prayer that he can ever answer in the 
future, will seem as miraculous as the sending his divine 
peace to my troubled heart. Why do you ask, dear ? ” 

“ Because I asked him to give me something to do for 
you — something as great as what Nina had done — to let 
me make the life happy which she had saved.” 

“And he has, I am sure, since you have conquered 
yourself,” he replied. 

“ But God knew that my heart meant more than that,” 
she said, “ and he answered my prayer in full. See, 
grandpapa. He let me find your lost money for you.” 

She put the roll of bills in his hands as she spoke. 

“ What ! Florrie, child. I don’t understand,” he ex- 
claimed, much as Mrs. Randall had done. 

“ I found them back of the loosened tile, grandpapa.” 

With trembling, eager hands he unfolded the bills and 
glanced them over. 

“ My home need not be sacrificed now,” he said, un- 
steadily. Then turning to Mrs. Randall, he added, em- 
phatically : 

“ He was not guilty, Mary. Forgive me for my unjust 
suspicion.” 

“ I do, brother, as freely as I hope you will forgive him 
for other wrongs.” 

“I have no right to withhold my forgiveness to my 


THE CHESTER GIRI^, 


227 


fellow mortal since God has forgiven so much in my own 
life/^ he said. 

“ But, grandpapa, how do you think the money came 
to be in such a place? ” Nina asked. 

“ I think,” replied Colonel Chester, thoughtfully, “ that 
I must have put it there myself.” 

“ You, grandpapa ? ” asked both the girls, in a breath, 
while Mrs. Kandall regarded him in amazement. 

“ I remember seeing the loosened tile that day, and 
thinking what an excellent hiding place it would be for 
valuable papers. Then the subject passed completely 
from my mind, and has not occurred to me since.” 

“ I should think you would have known if you had 
put it there,” remarked Florence. 

“ You know I went to sleep while guarding the money,” 
continued Colonel Chester, without heeding her interrup- 
tion, “ and even in my sleep I must have had the re- 
sponsibility of its safety on my mind ; and it must be 
that I took the money to the library and hid it back 
of the loosened tile. I have done things in my sleep 
before, and I can find no better explanation for it 
than this.” 

“It is probably the correct explanation,” said Mrs. 
Randall. 

“ What if we had never found it, and you had sold the 
home with the money in it ? ” exclaimed Florence. “ Then 


228 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


we should always have thought that the man Nina saw 
by the live oak tree was a robber.” 

“ I have always been sorry for that man,” added Nina, 
“ even when I thought he had taken the money. There 
was such a hopeless look in his face, I cannot forget it.” 

Mrs. Kandall groaned aloud. 

“ AVhat is it. Aunt Mary? Are you ill?” asked 
Florence. 

“ Only a pain,” she replied, with her hand pressed over 
her heart. 

“ What can I do for you ? ” asked Nina. 

“ Nothing, dear ; it is better now. It is nothing new. 
I have had it often before.” 

Presently the girls went out to gather some fresh roses 
for the supper-table; and when the brother and sister 
were alone again. Colonel Chester said : 

“ Mary, if you desire to send for your husband, do so. 
I will do all in my power to assist him.” 

“ Alas ! ” she sighed, “ I have no idea where he is now. 
I have-not heard one word from him since the night 
when I so cruelly refused his request.” 

After a while, their conversation drifted into other 
channels. Colonel Chester spoke of his granddaughters 
proudly, planning a bright future for them, and for 
himself in their society. 

“ They seem like children to you, and it is difficult to 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


229 


imagine them as anything else; but Nina will be sixteen 
in a few days, and Florence is nearly a year older.” 

“ Yes,” he said, with a fond glance down the shaded 
path, where the girls were walking slowly, arm in arm, 
the sunlight flashing between the branches of the trees, 
and gleaming on their bright, yellow heads. “ Yes, some- 
one will take them from me one of these days; but I hope 
it will be many years before I lose them.” 

“And yet it may be nearer than you think,” she 
replied. “ Andrew, what kind of a man is Dr. Gordon ? ” 

“ Dr. Gordon,” he repeated, “ is a good man — one whom 
I could trust. I think he has been a hard drinker — in 
fact, he acknowledged as much to me; but he has re- 
formed in the right w’ay. He relies upon God to keep 
him firm in his purpose of right.” 

“ In some unguarded moment, he may forget God, and 
fall again. Oh, Andrew ! it is such a hopeless task for a 
drunkard to reform.” 

“ I should be very sorry to learn that Dr. Gordon had 
fallen into evil ways again,” mused Colonel Chester. “ I 
have great faith in that man, and an unaccountable 
affection for him.” 

“ That is scarcely to be wondered at, under the circum- 
stances; but I fear for Nina. Some things she has said, 
lead one to suspect that she cares a great deal for him.” 

“ And so she does. We both do,” he replied. 


230 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Andrew, do you think it possible for Nina to give 
him a stronger affection than she has given you ? In 
other words, to give him her heart’s best love ? ” 

“ Pshaw, Mary ! what nonsense,” he replied, a trifle 
irritably. “He is old enough to be the child’s father.” 

“ That may be,” she responded ; “ but I fear she thinks 
too much of him. Her praises of him are extravagant.” 

“ Depend upon it, Mary, it is only her appreciation of 
his true worth which calls them forth. She is but a child 
in thought and heart as yet. I hope I may keep her so 
these many years.” 

A strange thing happened in the Chester home that 
evening, a most unusual occurrence — in fact, it had never 
taken place there before. 

“ I feel weary, and shall be obliged to retire early,” said 
Colonel Chester, when tea was over, and they were all 
with him in the back parlor. 

“ I have been thinking much of my past life to-day,” 
he resumed. “ I have, at most, but a few years more to 
spend upon earth. I cannot redeem my past from the 
blight of unbelief which is upon it ; but I may make a 
worthier record for my future, and this I shall set about 
doing at once. I have expressed myself fully on religious 
subjects at all times. I have talked my unbelief in my 
home, and among my friends. I was never ashamed to 
argue against those things ; and now that my eyes are 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


231 


opened, shall I not work as zealously for the cause as I 
did against it ? 

“ Nina, dear,” he continued, turning to her, “ you may 
summon the servants to ‘ family worship.’ ” 

Nina hastened to do his bidding with a happy heart. 

“ Bress de Lawd ! ” ejaculated Aunt Dinah, when Nina 
informed her of Colonel Chester’s request. “ De ‘ king- 
dom come ’ am mighty nigh dis mansion ter-night. Who’d 
a spect dese ole eyes would hah seen de glory oh dis day ? ” 
Jake, Lize, and Gipsy filed into the room in a half- 
frightened manner ; but Aunt Dinah marched triumph- 
antly in, and took her place, as though the custom of 
family worship ” was as old as the Chester homestead. 
Opening the Bible, Nina’s own little brown book. 
Colonel Chester turned to the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, 
and handing it to her, requested her to read aloud. 

“ The print is too small for my eyes,” he said. “ The 
first purchase I make, will be a large family Bible.” 

Once before Nina had read that chapter to Grandpapa 
Chester, in fear and trembling. She did not realize how 
important its influence would be; she could scarcely 
comprehend it as yet. She only knew that God had used 
her voice to send those words of conviction home to other 
hearts, and that while she was lamenting over her failure 
to do acceptable work for him, the good seed had taken 
root, and was growing. 


232 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


After the reading, Colonel Chester offered up a short, 
heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God that 
he had not gone down to his grave without first tasting of 
the richness of infinite mercy and redeeming love. 

It was one of those beautiful, moonlit evenings, with 
which the far Southern climate is so richly endowed ; 
and Mrs. Randall, together with Florence and Nina, 
seated themselves on the south-side gallery after Colonel 
Chester had retired. 

The silvery moonlight cast a radiant halo over all the 
earth, bathing the flowers and shrubs, grass and trees, in a 
flood of dazzling splendor, and flashing up from the river, 
as it flowed along between banks of tropical verdure. 

They sat in silence for some time, each -busy with 
thoughts that might not be shared with others. There 
are times in our lives when we stand alone with God. It 
may be on the crowded street, or in the solitude of our 
own room ; it may be in the midst of the family circle, or 
out under the clear dome of heaven, that God’s Spirit 
comes close to ours, and we feel that his presence is near 
us, and that we may commune with him unfettered by 
doubt or distance. Such a time seemed to have come to 
them. The new influence working in their hearts and 
home ; the new experience of family worship may have 
had much to do with it. It may be that the Divine Spirit 
which God has promised shall be in the midst of two or 


THE CHEbTER GIRLS. 


233 


three gathered together in his name, still lingered about 
them when the prayer was finished. At any rate, they 
were thinking of the new life, and comparing it with the 
old, thinking that home had now become a sacred place, 
with the glory of God's presence resting on it. 

“ Aunt Mary,” said Nina, at length, with a wavering 
voice, as if half fearful the subject she was about to pre- 
sent might be an unpleasant one, “ if Uncle Joseph were 
with us to-night, we should be perfectly happy.” 

Yes, dear,” she replied, and there was no displeasure 
in her tones. 

This gave Nina courage to continue the subject. 

“ If he might return to us a reformed Christian man, 
I think our cup of happiness would be full. Since God 
has done so much for us in other respects, I think he will 
grant us this, if w^e ask him.” 

“ I do, Nina, every day, almost every hour of my life, 
since I have learned to trust in him,” said Mrs. Kandall, 
sadly. “ It seems to me that w^e are never satisfied with 
the blessings he bestows upon''us ; but are all the time 
besieging him for more.” 

“ Elder Williams used to say that God likes us to come 
to him in this w^ay. You know. Aunt Mary, it does not 
impoverish him to enrich us, and he wants us to bring 
and lay at his feet the burdens which can only be lifted 
by his powder.” 


234 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ I sometimes fear I shall weary him with my petitions,” 
mused Mrs. Randall, in low tones, “ but I will never cease 
asking until my prayer is answered.” 

“I wonder what grandpapa will do with those books 
which he used to read in order to prove the fallacy of 
the Christian religion?” said Florence, from the midst of 
her own meditations. 

“ He informed me to-day that he should destroy them,” 
replied Mrs. Randall. “ He does not care to have them 
in his library ; and he said that he would not care to 
present them to his worst enemy, lest his mind be led 
astray by reading them.” 

“ I am glad that he will destroy them,” said Nina. I 
am sure he can fill their place with better books.” 

In a few moments, Nina arose, and bade her aunt and 
cousin “ good-night.” 

“ You are retiring early,” remarked Florence. 

‘‘I have a letter to write before I go to bed,” was 
Nina’s reply. 

“Aunt Mary,” she said, standing in the door, and 
looking back, “grandpapa promised me, some time 
ago, that I might have Papa and Mamma Bruce, and the 
boys, come to spend my birthday with me. I am going 
to write and invite them ; and I think I shall ask Dr. 
Gordon to come too.” 

“ You had better consult your grandfather about that,” 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 235 

said Aunt Mary, with disapproval in her voice, while 
Florence exclaimed : 

“ Do, Nina. I am anxious to meet this paragon of a 
man, whom you and grandfather admire so much.” 

“ I do not need to consult grandpapa. Aunt Mary, for 
I know that he will be pleased to have Dr. Gordon visit 
us. He was very anxious to have him come when we 
did ; but he could not come then.” 

As Nina ascended the stairs, her thoughts went back 
to a time, a year before, when she had entered Grandpapa 
Cliester’s home for the first time. Perhaps it was the 
invitation she was about to send to Papa and Mamma 
Bruce, which caused her to remember it at that time. 
Then she was a poor girl, and had come to sell her hair 
to Florence. She recalled her sensations when Aunt 
Dinah ushered her into Florence’s pretty blue and drab 
room, with its fleecy curtains and snowy counterpanes, 
and left her alone in its dainty loveliness. She remem- 
bered how she had envied the young girl who could call 
such a pretty room her own. It all came back to her, as 
she passed through the now familiar hall to her own 
room, joining Florence’s, and exactly like hers, only that 
the carpets and furniture in her own were newer, having 
been purchased especially for her, less than a year before. 

“ They must stay three days, at the very least,” mused 
Nina, drawing her willow-rocker to her writing-desk. 


236 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“ Mamma will want to see the city. She has always 
been too busy for a long stay. Yes, they must stay three 
days, and as much longer as they can.’^ 

After finishing her letter home, she wrote to Dr. Gor- 
don, at El Paso : 

I was not at all successful in interesting Aunt Mary in 
Dr. Gordon. I actually think she is jealous because I like 
you so well. Of course she has no idea who Dr. Gordon 
really is. To-night I spoke of Uncle Joseph, and she seemed 
quite willing to talk on that subject. She thinks she has 
been cruel to you in the past, though I do not understand 
how ; and she said to-night, that she prayed almost hourly 
for your conversion, and return to her. God has already 
answered the first ; and now, if you will, the second shall 
come true also. Dear Uncle Joseph, it would make us all so 
happy if you would come, so as to be here the 3d of April — 
that is my birthday ; and I do wish you would bring yourself 
for a birthday present. I am sure that mysterious “some- 
thing” need not prevent your coming, since Aunt Mary, and 
all of us, desire it so much. If you come, drop me a line, 
and I will prepare the family to welcome Dr. Gordon, and 
will leave the rest for a surprise when you get here. 

With loving remembrance, 

Nina Chester. 

P. S. I forgot to tell you, and I suppose it would keep 
until you come, but for fear that dreadful “something” will 
keep you away, I will tell you now, that we have found the 
money that grandpapa lost on Christmas night. Florence 
found it back of a tile in the library fire-place, where grand- 
papa had put it in his sleep. Grandpapa will not have to 
sell the dear old home now, and we are very happy. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


NINA S BIRTHDAY PRESENT. 



HREE days later Dr. Gordon read Nina’s letter with 


-*-• a misty tenderness in his eyes ; but a firm resolve in 
his heart that Nina’s request, and his dear wife’s prayer, 
must not be answered by him. He could not go to her, 
much as she might desire it, or his own inclination urge 
him to do so, while that dark shadow rested on his 


name. 


He had finished Nina’s letter, and was about to lay it 
aside (it had brought him joy and pain. Joy in the 
knowledge that his wife had forgiven him, pain in the 
thought that their separation might be forever) when he 
discovered that Nina had added a postscript on the back 
of the letter. 

Taking it up again, he read it, and his decision under- 
went a sudden change. 

“ The money is found,” he cried, joyously. “ Mary’s 
prayer shall be answered, and Nina shall have her wish.” 

“A letter for you, Nina,” said Colonel Chester, the day 
before her birthday, while they were yet seated at the 

237 


238 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


breakfast table — Jake having brought the mail direct 
from the “ carrier ” to the table. 

Nina took it eagerly, and seeing that the post-mark 
was El Paso, tore it open with trembling haste. 

“Oh, grandpapa, Aunt Mary, Florence, listen,” she 
cried, joyously : 

My Dear Nina. — You shall have the birthday present 
you desire. I will reach San Antonio on the morning of the 
third, if nothing occurs to prevent. 

Affectionately yours, 

Dr. Gordon. 

Mrs. Randall’s face grew very grave while Nina was 
reading, and even Colonel Chester was compelled to 
acknowledge that the letter employed more endearing 
terms than he could desire. 

“Ahem ! Let me see the letter, Nina,” he said, reach- 
ing for it. “ What does he mean by a birthday present ? 
You surely have not asked him to bring you one.” 

“ Yes, I have. A splendid present ; and he is going to 
do it,” said Nina, laughing. 

“ I did not think you could do such a thing, Nina,” 
remarked Mrs. Randall, in deep displeasure, while the 
old stormy look Nina had once feared so greatly, settled 
down over Colonel Chester’s face. 

“ Oh, dear,” cried Nina, “ I am afraid I shall have to 
explain. Dear Aunt Mary, don’t look so horrified. I 


THE CHESTEK GIRLS. 


239 


have not done anything so very dreadful. Do try to 
trust me until to-morrow. I promise you solemnly ” (the 
roguish dimples in her cheeks and the laughter in her 
eyes contradicted her words) “never to speak to him 
again after to-morrow, if you think best.” 

“ You seem confident that your Dr. Gordon will be- 
witch us all as he has you,” said Florence, good-naturedly. 

“ I am not sure,” said Nina ; “ but I hope so. Grand- 
papa ” — with grave importance — “ I would like to speak 
a few words with you in private. I find that I shall be 
obliged to explain matters to you a little, or you will 
never allow me to receive Dr. Gordon’s present, and it is 
such a fine, large one, I should be very sorry to refuse it.” 

“ Come into the library with me, Nina,” he said, rising 
and leading the way. 

“ Can it be that it is a new piano ? ” asked Florence, 
following them with curious eyes. 

“ I hope that he will refuse to allow her to accept any- 
thing from that man,” said Mrs. Randall, in anxious 
tones. “ I begin to dislike him very much.” 

A moment later and Nina, radiant with happiness, 
followed by Colonel Chester, whose face seemed like a 
reflection of her own, came out of the library. 

“ He has consented,” she cried, bobbing her bright 
head up and down, “ and it only took one kiss to win 
him over.” 


240 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


“What is the present, grandpapa? Is it a piano?” 
asked Florence. 

“ I am pledged to secrecy,” he replied ; “ but I Should 
hardly call it by that name.” 

Late in the day the Bruce family arrived, and the 
girls were as busy as bees in entertaining their guests. 

Mrs. Bruce and Mrs. Randall formed at once a mutual 
attachment, and they found it much pleasanter sitting in 
the large cool parlors conversing on subjects suitable to 
their age and inclinations, than in following the young 
people’s restless footsteps. Mr. Bruce and Colonel 
Chester were interested in cotton culture, and “ the 
children,” as these older people persisted in calling them, 
wandered away by themselves. 

Kina, who had known no preference for her brothers in 
her childhood days, discovered that Keil’s more serious 
nature had many attractive qualities, while Florence, 
more sedate than her sprightly cousin, found much to 
admire in Ked’s genial laughter and merry jocularity. 

Unconsciously they paired off in this manner; and 
during the next three happy days, Neil was always 
at Nina’s side, Avhile Ned attended the more stately 
Florence. 

How Nina managed to keep her precious secret con- 
cerning Dr. Gordon from her companions, the remainder 
of that day, was a surprise to herself, and a wonder to 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


241 


them all afterward. But keep it she did ; and when the 
carriage, in which Colonel Chester had gone to the train 
to meet Dr. Gordon, drove up to the side entrance, she 
did a very undignified thing ; and instead of remaining in 
the parlor with the rest, as she should have done, she ran 
out to meet him, giving him a girl’s glad kiss in the 
hall. 

She then hurried him into the library with the indefi- 
nite promise that she would “ send her to him soon,” and 
closed the door, leaving him alone among the books and 
the family portraits, which smiled a silent welcome. 

Mrs. Randall, coming down the broad stairs, was in- 
tercepted on her way by Nina, rosy with happiness. 

“ He has come. Aunt Mary, and I have shut him up in 
the library, that I might introduce him to you first.” 

“Nina!” cried Mrs. Randall, aghast. “Whatever 
prompted you to do such an unusual and unlady-like 
thing? I beg you to control yourself, and keep your ex- 
cesive happiness out of your eyes. Do not, I pray, let Dr. 
Gordon suspect your delight at his visit.” 

“Oh! I told him just how happy I am !” exclaimed 
Nina, innocently, drawing Mrs. Randall toward the 
library-door. “ He knows all about it. I could not hide 
it from him if I tried. And oh, Aunt Mary ! you will 
not be angry when you know that my delight is most on 
your account.” 

Q 


242 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


She flung open the door as she spoke, and stepped back 
for Mrs. Randall to enter. 

“I am going to leave you to introduce yourself, Aunt 
Mary,” she said, huskily ; and at once closed the door, 
leaving Mrs. Randall in the dim library, with a flush at 
Nina’s impolite conduct on her sensitive face. 

As soon as Nina had closed the library-door, she flew 
to the parlor, where Colonel Chester was informing his 
guests and Florence of Dr. Gordon’s identity. 

“I have shut them both in the library !” exclaimed 
Nina, laughing. “And oh, Florrie, you should have 
seen the horrified expression on Aunt Mary’s face, when 
I told her to introduce herself to Dr. Gordon. She 
thought I was a rude, impolite girl ; but she knows by 
this time why I am so happy.” 

Nina flung herself down at Mamma Bruce’s feet, and 
rested her head on the knee at which she had learned her 
first prayer. Mrs. Bruce’s hand passed lovingly over the 
bright head of the dear daughter who had been such a 
treasure in that far-ofiT Michigan home. 

Presently the parlor door opened, and Mrs. Randall, 
with the light of sweet contentment shining in her clear 
eyes, followed by a tall, handsome man, with a grave, 
kindly face, entered the room. 

Colonel Chester met them at the threshold. 

“ May God bless you, my sister, in your new-found 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


243 


happiness,” he said, tenderly. “ And you, my brother, 
may the peace of God’s blessing rest upon your life 
henceforth. Welcome, thrice welcome, to my home.” 

He then introduced the stranger to those present, and 
invited them all into the dining-room, where a bountiful 
meal was served, prepared by Aunt Dinah, who was 
never happier than when the house was filled with 
guests. 

“ There is but one missing link in the family-circle 
now,” said Colonel Chester, as he gazed down the well- 
filled table; “and that will be supplied when. the eleven 
o’clock train arrives. I telegraphed for Dyke to come on 
that train, and have his answer that he will be here.” 

“ I thank you, brother,” murmured Mrs. Randall. 

The dear boy ! Has he grown much ? ” asked Mr. 
Randall. 

“ He is a young giant,” returned Colonel Chester. 

“ And a young tornado,” said Florence, laughing. 

“ He is a boy, and I always did like boys ! ” exclaimed 
Nina, with a mischievous glance at the two brothers who 
had fought and quarreled over the possession of her from 
her very babyhood. 

“ Let us return thanks,"” said Colonel Chester, bowing 
his head. And every head was bowed lowly, reveren- 
tially, while from every heart thanksgiving went up to 
him who had blessed this home so abundantly. 


244 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


When the morning meal was finished, Colonel Chester 
ordered the carriage, and instructed Jake to drive the 
young people wherever they chose, until eleven o’clock, at 
which time they were to go to the train to meet Dyke. 

“ Make the most of the carriage this morning,” he said, 
as they took their seats. “ Mr. and Mrs. Bruce, and Mr. 
and Mrs. Randall are to visit the Spanish Missions this 
afternoon. If you young people care to go in so large a 
company, I will get a carriage from the stables, or you 
can go by yourselves to-morrow.” 

“I think we would prefer to wait until to-morrow?” 
replied Niel, interrogatively, glancing at the girls. 

“ To be sure we will,” confirmed Nina ; “ and then we 
can get lost again, if we want to. But what shall we do 
this afternoon ? ” 

“ Suppose we go to the Springs. It will be a nice, 
quiet time there now, and we can go in the street-cars,” 
suggested Florence. 

I approve of that plan,” Niel hastened to say. It is 
doubtful if he would have objected to any suggestion 
Florence would have made. 

Many interesting sights are to be found in and about 
the old Spanish city of San Antonio. The streets are 
narrow and irregular, ending abruptly in the most unex- 
pected places ; some of the low-walled, small- windowed 
adobe houses show walls battered and dented by the 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


245 


bullets which flew thick and fast during those early, 
troublous times, when, between the Indians on the one 
hand, and the Mexicans on the other, the early Texas 
settlers led a stormy life of constant warfare. 

The government-post located at this place, attracts the 
attention of all visitors. The grounds, on Government 
Hill, are beautifully laid out ; the officer’s homes, built of 
stone, are handsome structures, surrounded by all that 
money and love for the beautiful can do in ornamentation. 
They have fine lawns, with fountains and flowers ; wide 
galleries, with climbing roses and ivy ; and lovely drives, 
shaded by long, double rows of that most beautiful of 
all shade-trees, the China-tree. Cement walks surround 
a large, open space where the soldiers drill, and where, 
twice a week, “ dress parade ” calls forth crowds of 
people to witness the interesting spectacle. 

Ned and Neil were most interested in the horses ; and 
indeed they are well worth seeing, with their large, intel- 
ligent eyes, as they turn their heads in their stalls, and 
regard you inquisitively over their shoulders. The name 
of each horse, together with his owner’s name, is over the 
stall in which he is kept. The barracks, and the fine 
grounds within the open court, were next inspected. Our 
young people gazed up the dizzy height to where the 
Government Tower arose far above any object in all 
the surrounding country ; but in so doing, they discovered 


246 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


by the town clock that they would scarcely have time, 
before eleven o’clock, for the ascent; and decided to 
come again, when Dyke could accompany them, and they 
could climb the long stairs together. 

They were at the station to meet Dyke when he stepped 
from the train, and it took all four of them to answer 
liis eager questions concerning the money, Dr. Gordon, 
his father’s return, and all the things which had trans- 
pired during his three month’s absence from home. 

Dyke scarcely recognized his father in the tall, erect 
form which came to meet him when he had reached the 
house. The clasp of his strong hand, and the low-spoken 
“ My son,” with a deep tenderness in the tones, touched 
Dyke’s heart as it had never been touched before. He 
had expected to find his father improved in many ways ; 
he remembered him as a miserable “ slave to drink,” and 
he thought that by conquering his appetite he had possi- 
bly regained something of his lost manhood ; but this 
courtly, dignified gentleman, with just a touch of gravity 
in his manner, who commanded respect and admiration 
from all — could he be the father who had brought such 
misery into their home? 

“ I did not know that intemperance could degrade a 
man so much,” he thought. “ I will never taste of the 
stuff which has power to bring about such a change to 
those who are slaves to it. I might be strong enough to 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


247 


go just so far, and no farther; I might, perhaps, but I 
doubt it. If such a grand man as my father could fall 
so low as I have seen him, what could I expect for my- 
self? No, it is a dangerous thing at the best; and I be- 
lieve there is more real, true manhood in' refusing to 
drink, than in accepting.” 

After three days of sight-seeing and companionship 
with Nina, the Bruces returned to their lovely home, 
“ Live Oaks,” where the two girls often visited, carrying 
sunshine and happiness with them, and bringing back to 
their city home wholesome lessons of life’s best wisdom, 
such as only a loving woman knows how to impart to 
youthful minds. 

Nina and Florence Chester had become as sisters dur- 
ing those weeks of anxiety and trial, when they were 
each learning to practice self-denial; and in so doing, 
were becoming familiar with a higher, truer happiness 
than their hearts had been capable of entertaining 
before. Unselfish love is the best and truest love — it 
most nearly resembles the “ love divine.” 

When the excitement of Nina’s birthday gathering 
was over, and the household had renewed its wonted 
quiet after Dyke’s return to school, Ben Hur, the book 
which had already been the means of assisting in the 
accomplishment of much good, was brought forth, at 
Colonel Chester’s request, and once more it was read 


248 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


aloud to a circle of interested listeners. Colonel Chester 
was deeply impressed with the story, and especially with 
those parts of it which relate to Christ. 

“To think that I should have put such a book in 
Nina’s hands, with full permission to read and enjoy it, at 
the time when my heart was full of bitterness because 
she loved the Bible story ! ” Thus he thought many 
times during its perusal. “ Ah, truly, ‘ God moves in a 
mysterious way his wonders to perform.’ Of what avail 
is our puny human strength and opposition compared 
with his supreme power? We are as a pebble cast into 
the sea of time. A few ripples agitate the water’s sur- 
face, where we sink from sight in our resistance of the 
waves ; that is all. The ocean is neither greater nor less 
for all our struggles. God uses us to do his will, and to 
accomplish his purposes. Blindly, ignorantly, we follow 
the beck of his mighty hand, without knowing whither 
he is leading us. Happy are they who, realizing that he 
is guiding them, can rest in the assurance that all will be 
well with them, both here and hereafter.” 

“ Grandpapa,” said Florence, who loved to bring out 
her grandfather’s strongly expressed reprobation of the 
authors whom he at one time admired, “ what do you 
think of the wit and wisdom of infidel writers, now ? ” 

“ I think they have used their brilliant intellects in a 
wrong direction, as they will learn when, perhaps, too 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


249 


late to save themselves from the results of their own 
misdirected energies. A truly humble, conscientious 
Christian life is an unanswerable argument for God. 
Even in my days of doubt, the perfect faith, and the un- 
deniably answered prayers of a few real Christians, whom 
I have known, weakened the towers of my unbelief” 

“ Do you think that any human being, in these days 
of knowledge, is convinced beyond a doubt of the non- 
existence of God ? ” asked Dr. Randall. 

“ I think that many of the books on the subject are 
written as much to convince their authors, as well as 
others,” replied Colonel Chester. “ I know by my own 
experience, that when I talked the loudest, and searched 
the longest for convincing arguments, I doubted most. 
There probably are many of the more ignorant ones, 
who follow strictly in the pathw'ay of others, and believe 
what they are told ; but those who have weighed the 
subject intelligently and studiously, with an honest desire 
to arrive at correct conclusions, especially those w'ho have 
searched the Scriptures, and compared them with au- 
thentic ancient history — these, I venture to say, find many 
reasons for doubting theii own most lucid arguments.” 

“ I have stood by many a death-bed, and I have yet 
to visit the first one when the dying expressed regrets 
for having been deceived into putting their trust in God. 
On the other hand, I have heard wails of lamentation 


250 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


that the gift of redemption had not been accepted,” said 
Dr. Randall, thoughtfully. 

“ It is my opinion that no one meets death in the full 
possession of his faculties, with his unbelief in God un- 
shaken,” remarked Colonel Chester. ‘‘ That time, when 
many a mask has been lifted, and the true thoughts re- 
vealed, has revealed much, even regarding those men 
who have left behind them the works of their brains and 
pen, to lead others into paths of infidelity. Their 
adherents would desire to have this forgotten by the 
world they wish to influence through these very books, 
which the death-bed record of their authors contradict.” 

The ladies had wandered out to the gallery. And 
Colonel Chester continued : 

“ We have been a race of infidels for many years. As 
my memory of the Chester family extends, they were all 
unbelievers in God. He selected the youngest and fairest 
blossom of our household to be the means of bringing 
about our conversion. This could only be done by giv- 
ing her most impressible years into the keeping of devout 
Christian people. Therefore our babe was lost on Lake 
Michigan’s stormy shore, and rescued by those good 
people, so that in after years, she might come again to 
her own, and awaken in our hearts an interest in divine 
things.” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


AN EXCURSION FOR THE CHESTER GIRLS. 

rPHE hot summer days were fast approaching, when 
all the beauty and fragrance of this far Southern 
land is scorched and burned away beneath the fiery 
beams of a tropical sun, and when all out-doors is like a 
heated furnace, in the intensity of those fierce sun-rays. 
The refreshing breezes blown from the Gulf of Mexico, 
temper, in some degree, the long, hot summer. But all 
those who can afford to do so, seek cooler climes ; and 
from about the middle of May to the first of October, 
San Antonio, in common with many of its Southern 
sisters, presents a dreary, deserted appearance. 

Those who cannot afford to go away for the hot summer 
months, loll in the shade, expending all their remaining 
energy in killing mosquitoes, with which the air seems 
to swarm during the months of June and early July. 
Often, for days, even weeks, the thermometer stands at 
ninety-five degrees in the coolest corner of the house ; and 
often reaches from one hundred and seven degrees to one 
hundred and fourteen degrees in the shade. This exces- 
sive heat saps all strength and vitality, and a languid 

251 


252 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


indolence soon becomes habitual. This is not due to lazi- 
nees ; but to the effects of a climate to which the most 
ambitious and sprightly will soon succumb. 

As if to compensate for the heat and languor of the 
day, the evenings are supremely delightful. Often the 
cool ‘‘gulf breeze” blows all day; and if one is fortunate 
enough to secure a room with a south exposure, and has 
no other employment than to sit and “ take the breeze,” 
one can pass the time very pleasantly; for the breeze 
which fans the heated brow, blows away the swarms of 
mosquitoes. These breezes, which the favored few may 
enjoy during the day, are free to all when the sun has 
gone to shower his “white heat” blessings upon some 
other part of the world. The evenings are beautiful — 
indescribably so. After the furor and heat of the day, 
the calmness and coolness of the evening is most grate- 
fully enjoyed. 

Mr. Randall, known to San Antonians as Dr. Randall, 
desired, at first, to make a home for himself and family 
in some new place ; but Colonel Chester needed the com- 
panionship of a gentle, refined woman for his grand- 
daughters, and he persuaded Dr. Randall to take up once 
more his profession of medicine in the “Alamo” city. 

“ I acknowledge that there are many physicians here,” 
he said, in answer to Dr. Randall’s argument that his 
profession appeared to be “ overworked ” in San Antonio, 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


253 


“ but there is always room for more. Our city is crowded 
each year with Northern invalids, who, escaping from the 
rigors of the Northern climate, seek the balmy, life- 
restoring atmosphere, and summer mildness of our own. 
I think you will do quite as well here as elsewhere. 
Aside from this, I have a selfish motive in wishing you 
to remain. I do not see how I can spare sister Mary 
from my home.” 

So it was decided that they were to remain, and that 
Mrs. Kandall should still occupy the place of a mother to 
the two motherless girls. 

Colonel Chester had long promised Florence a trip 
through California ; and since Mrs. Randall could not be 
persuaded to spend any part of the summer away from 
her husband, the Colonel suggested that now was a favor- 
able time for their trip, and home would be well cared 
for during their absence. Nina, of course, was to accom- 
pany them ; and only happy girls like the two I have 
written about, can appreciate the full enjoyment they 
experienced in their preparations for that delightful trip 
to the country which, in their imagination, had taken 
the place of childhood’s “ fairy land.” 

Just before they started on their journey, they made a 
‘•'flying visit” to Live Oaks, “ Because,” as Nina said, 
“ we shall be gone for three or four months, at the least ; 
and there is no knowing when we shall all meet again.” 


254 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


Neil, standing beside her, bent his handsome young 
face a trifle closer to his own, and said, in a low voice: 

“ Ned and I will start for Chicago before you return ; 
and, as you say, Nina, there is ‘ no knowing ^ when we 
shall meet again.” 

“ What will you do in Chicago ? ” asked Nina. 

“I shall commence the study of medicine, and Ned 
the study of law,” he replied. “ I am quite sure that I 
have made no mistake in my chosen profession,” he 
added ; “ but I think Ned has. I think he will event- 
ually choose a mercantile life ; but it will be well enough 
for him to understand enough of law to keep his own 
reckless self out of danger. We did not tell you our 
intentions before, because we were not fully decided.” 

“ What will papa and mamma do without you ? ” asked 
Nina. “ How will papa run the farm, or mamma keep 
house, when you are both away ? ” 

“ He will oversee the work, and hired men will have 
to do it. Somehow, we all lived on, Nix,” (adopting the 
old pet name of her childhood tenderly), “ after you left 
us. Home has never seemed quite the same to me since ; 
but we lived, and I suppose we shall go on living, no 
matter what changes take place. Boys grow to be men, 
you know ; and mothers have to let them go out into the 
world for themselves.” 

A peal of merry laughter came echoing up the garden 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


255 


path, where Ned and Florence were standing under the 
rose-tree. 

“They are all glad, free-hearted children yet,” Mr. 
Bruce said in his wife’s ear, as their fond eyes wandered 
first to the couple at the window, then to those under the 
rose-tree. “ Neil seems older than the rest ; and it seems 
to me that I can see the dawning of an affection stronger 
and deeper than brother-love in his eyes, when he looks 
at Nina. Oh, mother ! if this might be, our old age 
would be crowned with the best blessing we could desire 
or ask for in life.” 

“ If, in the years to come, God sees fit to give our 
little girl back to us again, I shall feel that my cup of 
happiness is full indeed,” she said, tremulously. “ It will 
be a long time before the children meet again, and during 
that time, they will associate with others. They will meet 
as men and women next, and other attachments may be 
formed in the meantime. We cannot tell.” 

“ It may be for all except Neil. I think he will always 
give the little girl he learned to love in Michigan the 
first place in his heart,” replied Mr. Bruce. 

“ I shall be very lonely when all my birds have flown 
from the home nest,” said Mrs. Bruce, when she kissed 
the girls “ good-by.” 

“We will write long letters to you often,” replied Nina ; 
that will be almost like having us with you again.” 


256 


THE CHESTER GIRLS. 


The last evening they spent at home, was a pleasant 
one indeed. The girls sang several hymns, in which the 
others united. Colonel Chester attempted to join in the 
sacred songs he had learned to love so late in life. After- 
ward each one had some bright experience of answered 
prayer to relate ; and their hearts were drawn together 
by the silver cords of a love stronger and deeper than 
they had known before. 

“ Those who have gone before seem nearer to me, since 
I can add to my memory of them a hope in a glad 
reunion. My lost wife trusted in God ; and it pains my 
heart to remember I so often grieved her by my unbelief,” 
said Colonel Chester. 

“We have all regrets to look back upon,” said Dr. 
Randall, sadly, glancing, with fondest affection, at his 
wife, “ memories which we would fain forget, except that 
they help to make us more kind in our present life.” 

The moonlight was flooding the earth with silvery 
radiance ; the cool “ gulf breeze ” swayed the trees gently 
to and fro, casting wavering shadows on the lawn, where 
the two girls wandered with their arms clasped lovingly 
about each other. Hearts were filled with thoughts too 
deep for words. 


[the end.] 


J 


• w 


I 


* 


I 


< 


Vi 


I 





0 





• • ^ .'I 


fS \ f 







* ■• * ■' Tt- < *, 

• ^ . • ■ * p,^ ^ . ir* 

v* -*'li ^ ■ ■'y V* <•■ 


>r , r V 


f -V» 


* A « 


'it •,%.-i 

r > 


V V: ^ :" >: -V 

» r?.w'^ ^ k V... 


i* S ^ ■ *1 • * T"- >1 ' j 

^/>.‘- ' • • V.- .-4 y^-' .. < ^ . U-: 

' ■ •. »^’».' ■ • • • 

. - • '.: ■■; -■-■ V ’ ^ '. 


'V J 

1 

J 

» _• • 


■‘'\"V 
• ^ ■-* 


r V* 





Vi 


I- 


• * ►• « . . ^ - *p* . w 

•V 


♦ • 

« ^ « 


f 

t' " \ 




1 - • - v. 

» • ’ V '' i 

•■ -.'Ss;-" ■ • 


^ V “ 


i'.r 


•r |. 

.* r^' 


/ » V • 





4 A ^ • ./ ■ -^ A vr 


■■ vV’. If :■ - 

:f^ 

'•T 1 ; .' 


■i- 


• ' » 


V 





>y; H 


s , •» 


I 


^ "‘H 

* • t 

* 


. i» 


4 4 
f- 




.Vi 




* » -y*^ ' 

V ■ ' JP- ' 

• * >*-t '■. — ' 

.. C ; 

" ’ ' *4a 



^y.,: ' f'.: , ., 




fr \\y 

. < . 


* •’V •' • 



• i 

./! 




» • 


’• ; 'v I aS.^ 'il 

/ ■ *,t . • ■' * • I 


s 

ft 


/ 




l« 




I ^ 


■-v 

^'4 


* ' ■ 


I _ 




I ^ 


• $ 


fil 

i 


/•«< 


> 

’tt 

';«. , * 


-. t*, 


.V^ 


.-• 4^ K 





r.< <•.* 


y 


' V 




- ^ *X 




-A- r 


^ 4.. 


(P* ‘7,^ ' ’ 


'4 • 

4.0 V 


r< 


«, 


.• i . 





V 4 


■[%.% 


i. 

> • 


v'r' 


* 

V- ^ ►• 


t 


»-. 


.v*r - 
***’' - , - ^ • -'V * V 


/ 






\ i ' 


ii^-''.' - .v. ' •.•■-.■ .• ■ ■ 

^ - A 4 * 


' ' \i 

. Sit* s 


4 


nt 


.•r:^>- 


I > 




« 


« • 


4 #- 


L^ -* • - _ I 

J-i* • ^ 9 

***•■9 " , 'V 

> 4"' ■* 


A ^ 


. - w - * 






• ••■ ■' ^ •' '• ‘ 4 

, ‘ .■ - ’ ■- 

• ' a ' «A ^ ^ . *• 


r‘V 




V- 




-;v< -vf ;' .- • ■ 


. ' •. 










